title: Beneficial effects of local profound hypothermia and the possible mechanism after experimental spinal cord injury in rats.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The primary focus of this study was to investigate the effects of local profound hypothermia and to explore the possible mechanism in adult rats with spinal cord injury.
  
  
  METHODS
  Spinal cord injury models were established by placing aneurysm clips on T10. An epidural perfusion device was applied to maintain a steady temperature (18 °C) for 120 min with gradual rewarming to 37 °C Total hypothermic duration lasted up to about 170 min. The expression of axon regeneration inhibitors was tested by Western blot and real-time PCR. Luxol Fast Blue (LFB) stain and Bielschowsky silver stain were used to observe spinal cord morphology. Motor function of the hind limbs (BBB score) was monitored for 21 days.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The expressions of RhoA, ROCK-II, NG2, Neurocan, Brevican, and Nogo-A were downregulated by regional hypothermia (RH) after spinal cord injury. Subsequent observation showed that rats that had received RH had an alleviated demyelinating condition and a greater number of nerve fibers. Furthermore, the RH group achieved higher BBB scores than the spinal cord injury (SCI) group.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Recovery of hind limb function in rats can be promoted by local profound hypothermia; this may be caused by the suppression of axon regeneration inhibitors.
authors: a Department of Neurosurgery , Jinling Hospital, School of Medicine, Nanjing University , Nanjing , Jiangsu Province , China.
authors: Xiaoyu
authors: X
authors: Xu
authors: a Department of Neurosurgery , Jinling Hospital, School of Medicine, Nanjing University , Nanjing , Jiangsu Province , China.
authors: Ning
authors: N
authors: Li
authors: a Department of Neurosurgery , Jinling Hospital, School of Medicine, Nanjing University , Nanjing , Jiangsu Province , China.
authors: Lin
authors: L
authors: Zhu
authors: a Department of Neurosurgery , Jinling Hospital, School of Medicine, Nanjing University , Nanjing , Jiangsu Province , China.
authors: Yuan
authors: Y
authors: Zhou
authors: a Department of Neurosurgery , Jinling Hospital, School of Medicine, Nanjing University , Nanjing , Jiangsu Province , China.
authors: Huilin
authors: H
authors: Cheng
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001369:Axons / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology; D058581:Brevican / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D015536:Down-Regulation; D006614:Hindlimb / Q000294:innervation / Q000502:physiology; D007036:Hypothermia, Induced; D008297:Male; D009416:Nerve Regeneration; D058580:Neurocan / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D000070798:Nogo Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D020127:Recovery of Function; D013119:Spinal Cord Injuries / Q000534:rehabilitation / Q000628:therapy*; D054460:rho-Associated Kinases / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D020742:rhoA GTP-Binding Protein / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D058581:Brevican; D058580:Neurocan; D000070798:Nogo Proteins; D054460:rho-Associated Kinases; D020742:rhoA GTP-Binding Protein
keywords: Profound hypothermia; ROCK; RhoA; Spinal cord injury