Effect of Progesterone Therapy on TNF-α and iNOS Gene Expression in Spinal Cord Injury Model.
Spinal cord injury (SCI) as a destructive crash result in neurons degeneration. The SCI lead to the onset of biochemical and molecular cascades such as inflammation that in turn has a key role in neurodegeneration development. The previous studies demonstrated the role of TNF-α and iNOS genes in intensifying the process after SCI. As a consequence, these genes overexpression intensify the inflammation and neuron degeneration process. In the present study, 32 male Wistar rats were chased and divided into four groups of eight. The SCI were induced in three groups and another group used as a sham. The progesterone hormone used as a therapeutic agent in rats with SCI. The results showed that injection of 10 μg/kg/12h progesterone hormone reduced the TNF-α and iNOS gene expression significantly and confirmed the role of progesterone in the reduction of inflammation. Also, the numbers of intact neurons in progesterone group were higher than other groups that demonstrated the protective effects of progesterone on neuron death. The BBB test was performed and demonstrated that progesterone is an effective factor to the improvement of locomotor response. These results of the study confirmed the anti-inflammatory activity of progesterone hormone and suggested that it can be used as a therapeutic factor for SCI.
Department of Anatomy, School of Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Akram
A
Farahabadi
Department of Anatomy, School of Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Mohammad
M
Akbari
Department of Anatomy, School of Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Akram
A
Amini Pishva
Institute of Neuroanatomy, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany.
Adib
A
Zendedel
Department of Surgery, School of Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Ali
A
Arabkheradmand
Institute of Neuroanatomy, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany.
Cordian
C
Beyer
School of Allied Health Sciences, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Nasrin
N
Dashti
Department of Anatomy, School of Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Gholamreza
G
Hassanzadeh
D000818:Animals; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation / Q000187:drug effects*; D008297:Male; D052247:Nitric Oxide Synthase Type II / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000235:genetics*; D011374:Progesterone / Q000494:pharmacology*; D011372:Progestins / Q000494:pharmacology; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000235:genetics*; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D060888:Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction; D013119:Spinal Cord Injuries / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000235:genetics*
D011372:Progestins; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha; D011374:Progesterone; D052247:Nitric Oxide Synthase Type II; C496318:Nos2 protein, rat
Inducible nitric oxide synthase; Iran; Progesterone; Spinal cord injury; Tumor necrosis alpha