title: Seawater immersion aggravates sciatic nerve injury in rats.
abstract: The aim of the present study was investigate the impact of seawater immersion on peripheral nerve injury and the underlying mechanisms. A total of 234 specific pathogen-free Sprague-Dawley male rats were randomly divided into a sham group, injury control group and seawater immersion + injury group. The Sciatic Functional Index (SFI) was used to assess nerve function for 6 weeks after injury. Compound muscle action potentials were measured and hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) staining of nerve specimens was carried out at week 6. Levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and malondialdehyde (MDA) in nerve tissues were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), and the expression levels of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) mRNA and protein were measured by reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction and immunohistochemistry, respectively. The SFI value in the seawater immersion + injury group after 6 weeks was lower than that in the injury control group (P<0.05). The compound muscle action potential in the seawater immersion + injury group had a prolonged latency, and the amplitude and nerve conduction velocity were decreased compared with those in the other groups (P<0.05). H&E staining demonstrated that nerve fiber regeneration was worse in the seawater immersion + injury group. The ROS and MDA levels in the seawater immersion + injury group were higher than those in the other groups (P<0.05). The expression levels of iNOS mRNA and protein gradually increased in the injury and seawater immersion + injury groups and peaked at 48 h after surgery. Immersion in seawater further aggravated sciatic nerve injury and led to worse neuronal recovery. The mechanism may be associated with oxidative stress.
authors.affiliation: Department of Micro-Orthopedics, The People's Liberation Army Clinical College Affiliated with Anhui Medical University (The 105th Hospital of People's Liberation Army), Hefei, Anhui 230031, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Haifeng
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopedics, The People's Liberation Army Clinical College Affiliated with Anhui Medical University (The 105th Hospital of People's Liberation Army), Hefei, Anhui 230031, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Jian
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Fang
authors.affiliation: Department of Micro-Orthopedics, The People's Liberation Army Clinical College Affiliated with Anhui Medical University (The 105th Hospital of People's Liberation Army), Hefei, Anhui 230031, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Feng
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopedics, The People's Liberation Army Clinical College Affiliated with Anhui Medical University (The 105th Hospital of People's Liberation Army), Hefei, Anhui 230031, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Gewei
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopedics, The People's Liberation Army Clinical College Affiliated with Anhui Medical University (The 105th Hospital of People's Liberation Army), Hefei, Anhui 230031, P.R. China.
authors.forename: H E
authors.initials: HE
authors.lastname: Hong
keywords: neuronal recovery; oxidative stress; sciatic nerve injury; seawater immersion