Anti-edema effects of rhEpo in experimental traumatic brain injury.
OBJECTIVE
Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is one of the leading causes of disability and death which begins with the formation of edema as the persistent primary causative factor in TBI. Although medical management of cerebral edema by hypothermia, ventriculostomy, mannitol or hypertonic saline have been effective in treating edema, many of these therapies end up with some neurologic deficits, necessitating novel treatment options for treating post-TBI edema. This study investigated edema reducing effects of recombinant human Erythropoietin (rhEPO) in reducing acute brain edema in the CCI mouse model of TBI.


METHODS
Anti-edema effects of rhEpo in reducing acute brain edema after injury in the CCI mouse model of TBI were assessed by T2 weighted magnetic resonance imaging (T2wMRI) as the accurate detector of brain edema in correlation with Western blot analysis of cerebral aquaporin 4 (AQP4) index as the critical marker of edema.


RESULTS
Results show that rhEpo treatment significantly reduced brain edema with concomitant reduction in AQP4 immunoexpression in the CCI mouse model of TBI.


CONCLUSIONS
Current results emphasize clinical utility of rhEpo in treating post-TBI edema.
Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA.
Rodolfo
R
Gatto
Medical University of Lublin, Lublin, Poland.
Mihir
M
Chauhan
Neuroscience Research, R&D, Jesse Brown VA Medical Center, Chicago, IL, USA.|Department of Pediatrics, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA.
Neelima
N
Chauhan
D000818:Animals; D051401:Aquaporin 4 / Q000378:metabolism; D015153:Blotting, Western; D001921:Brain / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D001929:Brain Edema / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000209:etiology / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology; D001930:Brain Injuries / Q000150:complications / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D004353:Drug Evaluation, Preclinical; D004921:Erythropoietin / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D006801:Humans; D021621:Imaging, Three-Dimensional; D007274:Injections, Intraperitoneal; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D018696:Neuroprotective Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D011994:Recombinant Proteins / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D016896:Treatment Outcome
C496031:Aqp4 protein, mouse; D051401:Aquaporin 4; C554270:EPO protein, human; D018696:Neuroprotective Agents; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D004921:Erythropoietin
AQP4; Traumatic brain injury; controlled cortical impact injury; edema; magnetic resonance imaging; recombinant human erythropoietin