title: Methylprednisolone promotes recovery of neurological function after spinal cord injury: association with Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway activation.
abstract: Some studies have indicated that the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway is activated following spinal cord injury, and expression levels of specific proteins, including low-density lipoprotein receptor related protein-6 phosphorylation, β-catenin, and glycogen synthase kinase-3β, are significantly altered. We hypothesized that methylprednisolone treatment contributes to functional recovery after spinal cord injury by inhibiting apoptosis and activating the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway. In the current study, 30 mg/kg methylprednisolone was injected into rats with spinal cord injury immediately post-injury and at 1 and 2 days post-injury. Basso, Beattie, and Bresnahan scores showed that methylprednisolone treatment significantly promoted locomotor functional recovery between 2 and 6 weeks post-injury. The number of surviving motor neurons increased, whereas the lesion size significantly decreased following methylprednisolone treatment at 7 days post-injury. Additionally, caspase-3, caspase-9, and Bax protein expression levels and the number of apoptotic cells were reduced at 3 and 7 days post-injury, while Bcl-2 levels at 7 days post-injury were higher in methylprednisolone-treated rats compared with saline-treated rats. At 3 and 7 days post-injury, methylprednisolone up-regulated expression and activation of the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway, including low-density lipoprotein receptor related protein-6 phosphorylation, β-catenin, and glycogen synthase kinase-3β phosphorylation. These results indicate that methylprednisolone-induced neuroprotection may correlate with activation of the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway.
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopedics, Jining No.1 People's Hospital, Jining, Shandong Province, China.
authors.forename: Gong-Biao
authors.initials: GB
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopedics, Jining No.1 People's Hospital, Jining, Shandong Province, China.
authors.forename: Fu-Wen
authors.initials: FW
authors.lastname: Niu
authors.affiliation: Department of Interventional Radiology, Jining No.1 People's Hospital, Jining, Shandong Province, China.
authors.forename: Ying-Chun
authors.initials: YC
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Jining Medical University, Jining, Shandong Province, China.
authors.forename: Lin
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Du
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopedics, Jining No.1 People's Hospital, Jining, Shandong Province, China.
authors.forename: Zhi-Yuan
authors.initials: ZY
authors.lastname: Liang
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopedics, Jining No.1 People's Hospital, Jining, Shandong Province, China.
authors.forename: Yuan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Gao
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopedics, Jining No.1 People's Hospital, Jining, Shandong Province, China.
authors.forename: Ting-Zhen
authors.initials: TZ
authors.lastname: Yan
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopedics, Jining No.1 People's Hospital, Jining, Shandong Province, China.
authors.forename: Zhi-Kui
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-7158-1557
authors.initials: ZK
authors.lastname: Nie
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopedics, Jining No.1 People's Hospital, Jining, Shandong Province, China.
authors.forename: Kai
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-0771-7755
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Gao
keywords: Bax; Bcl-2; apoptosis; caspase-3; caspase-9; locomotor function; nerve regeneration; neural regeneration; neuroprotection; methylprednisolone; spinal cord injury