Objective: It has been suggested that the vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) gene expression plays an important role in radiation-induced injury to the spinal cord. This study assesses the radioprotective effects of N-acetyl-5-methoxytryptamine (melatonin) through its modulation of VEGF expression after localized irradiation of the cervical spinal cord.
Materials And Methods: In this experimental study, we divided 192 male rats into four groups: 1. control (n=48); 2. rats that received an intraperitoneal (IP) injection of melatonin (n=48); 3. rats that received an IP injection of melatonin 30 minutes prior to cervical spinal cord gamma irradiation [dose: 22 Gy; (n=48)]; and 4. rats that received an IP injection of vehicle prior to spinal cord irradiation (n=48). The changes in VEGF expression were assessed using real-time RT-PCR and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays. Samples for light microscopy were stained with hematoxylin and eosin (H&E). The differences among the groups were analyzed using the analysis of variance (ANOVA) test followed by Tukey's multiple comparisons test.
Results: Up-regulation of VEGF expression was observed from 8 to 22 weeks after irradiation (p<0.05). Paralysis and other radiation-induced myelopathy manifestations developed within 22 weeks after irradiation. VEGF expression in the melatonin pre-treatment group significantly down-regulated in the 20(th) and 22(nd) weeks after irradiation compared to the radiation-only group.
Conclusion: The results support the hypothesis that modulation of VEGF expression by melatonin administration may increase the survival rate of irradiated animals.
Download full-text PDF |
Source |
|---|---|
| http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3593928 | PMC |
Publication Analysis
Top Keywords
Similar Publications
Therapeutic effects of erythropoietin-alginate/chitosan hydrogel on impaired male rat fertility after spinal cord injury.
Mol Biol Rep
January 2025
Department of Clinical Science, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran.
Background: Infertility is a significant issue in spinal cord injury (SCI) patients. Men with SCI often experience erectile and ejaculatory dysfunctions, and low sperm quality leading to impaired fertility. In this study, we investigated the effectiveness of Erythropoietin (EPO)alginate/chitosan (CH-AL) hydrogel on SCI-induced male rat infertility.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFds-FCRN: three-dimensional dual-stream fully convolutional residual networks and transformer-based global-local feature learning for brain age prediction.
Brain Struct Funct
January 2025
Department of Biomedical Engineering, College of Chemistry and Life Sciences, Beijing University of Technology, Beijing, 100124, China.
The brain undergoes atrophy and cognitive decline with advancing age. The utilization of brain age prediction represents a pioneering methodology in the examination of brain aging. This study aims to develop a deep learning model with high predictive accuracy and interpretability for brain age prediction tasks.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFUpper cervical spinal cord atrophy in MS: Sex, menopause, and neurodegeneration.
Mult Scler
January 2025
Center for Multiple Sclerosis and Autoimmune Neurology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA.
Background: Spinal cord (SC) atrophy is a key imaging biomarker of progressive multiple sclerosis (MS). Progressive MS is more common in men and postmenopausal women.
Objective: Investigate the impact of sex and menopause on SC measurements in persons with MS (pwMS).
The Sir Ludwig Guttmann lecture 2023: psychosocial factors and adjustment dynamics after spinal cord injury.
Spinal Cord
January 2025
Rehabilitation Studies, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, The Kolling Institute, Northern Sydney Local Health District, St Leonards, NSW, Australia.
Study Design: Narrative review OBJECTIVES: Sir Ludwig Guttmann realised spinal cord injury (SCI) rehabilitation should incorporate more than a biomedical approach if SCI patients were to adjust to their injury and achieve productive social re-integration. He introduced components into rehabilitation he believed would assist his patients build physical strength as well as psychological resilience that would help them re-engage with their communities. We pay tribute to Sir Ludwig by presenting research that has focussed on psychosocial factors that contribute to adjustment dynamics after SCI.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHistone Methyltransferase G9a in Primary Sensory Neurons Promotes Inflammatory Pain and Transcription of and via Bivalent Histone Modifications.
J Neurosci
January 2025
Center for Neuroscience and Pain Research, Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas 77030, USA
Transient receptor potential ankyrin 1 (TRPA1) and vanilloid 1 (TRPV1) channels are crucial for detecting and transmitting nociceptive stimuli. Inflammatory pain is associated with sustained increases in TRPA1 and TRPV1 expression in primary sensory neurons. However, the epigenetic mechanisms driving this upregulation remain unknown.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWant AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?
Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!