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Inhibition of Caspase-3, -6, -8 and -9 Expression in Rats with Acute Spinal Cord Injury by Cantharidin Treatment
Zhao, Gang; Wang, Xiao-Hui; Song, Ren-Qian & Zhang, Chun-Lin
Abstract
Purpose: To demonstrate the anti-apoptotic effects of cantharidin in mice with acute spinal cord injury
(ASCI).
Methods: In total, 30 male Sprague-Dawley mice were divided into three groups of 10 animals each.
ASCI was induced in two of the groups using a modified Allen\'s method, consisting of treatment with 10
mg/kg body weight cantharidin after injury, and sacrifice on days 2, 5, 10, 20 and 30 to extract the spinal
cord. The activity levels of caspase-3, -6, -8, and -9 were determined spectrophotometrically at 455 nm
with a microplate reader.
Results: The results showed that cantharidin treatment caused a significant reduction in the expression
levels of all four caspases – caspase-3, -6, -8, and -9 – compared with the untreated groups. Two hours
after ASCI, caspase levels in the cantharidin-treated group increased, reaching maximum after day 5,
but were significantly lower than in the untreated group. The expression levels of caspases in the
cantharidin-treated group were similar to those in the control group on days 20 and 30 following ASCI (p
> 0.05).
Conclusion: Cantharidin treatment exerts an anti-apoptotic effect against secondary spinal cord injury
(SCI) by suppressing caspase activity. Thus, cantharidin may be suitable for the treatment of secondary
SCI.
Keywords
Cantharidin; Caspase; Anti-apoptotic; Inhibition; Regeneration
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