title: Evaluation of the effect of tranilast on rats with spinal cord injury.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Glial and fibrotic scars inhibit neural regeneration after spinal cord injury (SCI). N-[3,4-dimethoxycinnamoyl]-anthranilic acid (tranilast) inhibits transforming growth factor β, alleviates allergic reactions, and decreases hypertrophic skin scars. We evaluated its ability to improve motor function and inhibit the spread of tissue damage in rats with SCI.
  
  
  METHODS
  Rats with SCI were divided into groups that received tranilast (30 mg/[kg · day]) by intravenous administration (group IV), tranilast (200mg/[kg · day]) by oral administration (group OR), and saline injections (control). Motor functions were assessed by determining Basso, Beattie, and Bresnahan (BBB) scores and %grip tests for 8 weeks after SCI. Histological evaluation of ionized calcium binding adaptor molecule 1 (Iba1) at 1 week after SCI and glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), fibronectin, and chondroitin sulfate (CS) at week 8 was performed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Motor function recovery, BBB score, and the %grip test were significantly higher in the tranilast-treated groups than in the control group. At week 1 after SCI, inflammatory-cell invasion was more severe and Iba1 expression was significantly higher in the control group. At week 8, although the number of GFAP-positive cells increased greatly from the impaction site to the proximal and distal sites in the control group, these cells were confined around a cavity in the tranilast-treated groups. GFAP distribution coincided with that of fibronectin. Anti-CS antibody level in the tranilast-treated groups was significantly lower than that in the control group.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Tranilast inhibits inflammation in the acute phase of SCI and reduces glial and fibrotic scars and could present a new method for treating SCI.
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, Handayama 1-20-1, Hamamatsu, Shizuoka 431-3192, Japan. Electronic address: mitsuruhanada@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Mitsuru
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hanada
authors.affiliation: Division of Cell Biology, Department of Biosciences, School of Science, Kitasato University, 1-15-1 Kitasato, Minami-ku, Sagamihara, Kanagawa 252-0373, Japan.
authors.forename: Koji
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Tsutsumi
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, Handayama 1-20-1, Hamamatsu, Shizuoka 431-3192, Japan.
authors.forename: Hideyuki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Arima
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopedics, Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine, Nagoya 466-8550, Japan.
authors.forename: Ryuichi
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Shinjo
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry, Keio University School of Medicine, Tokyo 160-8582, Japan; JST Precursory Research for Embryonic Science and Technology (PRESTO) Project, Japan.
authors.forename: Yuki
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Sugiura
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopedics, Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine, Nagoya 466-8550, Japan.
authors.forename: Shiro
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Imagama
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopedics, Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine, Nagoya 466-8550, Japan.
authors.forename: Naoki
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Ishiguro
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, Handayama 1-20-1, Hamamatsu, Shizuoka 431-3192, Japan. Electronic address: spine-yu@hama-med.ac.jp.
authors.forename: Yukihiro
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Matsuyama
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002135:Calcium-Binding Proteins / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D002809:Chondroitin Sulfates / Q000378:metabolism; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D005353:Fibronectins / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D005904:Glial Fibrillary Acidic Protein / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D008840:Microfilament Proteins / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D009043:Motor Activity / Q000187:drug effects*; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D020127:Recovery of Function; D013116:Spinal Cord / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D013119:Spinal Cord Injuries / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D062367:ortho-Aminobenzoates / Q000008:administration & dosage*
chemical_list: C100745:Aif1 protein, rat; D002135:Calcium-Binding Proteins; D005353:Fibronectins; D005904:Glial Fibrillary Acidic Protein; D008840:Microfilament Proteins; D062367:ortho-Aminobenzoates; D002809:Chondroitin Sulfates; C012293:tranilast
keywords: Fibrotic scar; Glial scar; Inflammation; Motor function; Spinal cord injury; Tranilast