Hypothermia increases cold-inducible protein expression and improves cerebellar-dependent learning after hypoxia ischemia in the neonatal rat.

Background: Hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy remains a significant cause of developmental disability. The standard of care for term infants is hypothermia, which has multifactorial effects. Therapeutic hypothermia upregulates the cold-inducible protein RNA binding motif 3 (RBM3) that is highly expressed in developing and proliferative regions of the brain. The neuroprotective effects of RBM3 in adults are mediated by its ability to promote the translation of mRNAs such as reticulon 3 (RTN3). METHODS: Hypoxia ischemia or control procedure was conducted in Sprague Dawley rat pups on postnatal day 10 (PND10). Pups were immediately assigned to normothermia or hypothermia at the end of the hypoxia. In adulthood, cerebellum-dependent learning was tested using the conditioned eyeblink reflex. The volume of the cerebellum and the magnitude of cerebral injury were measured. A second study quantified RBM3 and RTN3 protein levels in the cerebellum and hippocampus collected during hypothermia.

Results: Hypothermia reduced cerebral tissue loss and protected cerebellar volume. Hypothermia also improved learning of the conditioned eyeblink response. RBM3 and RTN3 protein expression were increased in the cerebellum and hippocampus of rat pups subjected to hypothermia on PND10.

Conclusions: Hypothermia was neuroprotective in male and female pups and reversed subtle changes in the cerebellum after hypoxic ischemic.

Impact: Hypoxic ischemic produced tissue loss and a learning deficit in the cerebellum. Hypothermia reversed both the tissue loss and learning deficit. Hypothermia increased cold-responsive protein expression in the cerebellum and hippocampus. Our results confirm cerebellar volume loss contralateral to the carotid artery ligation and injured cerebral hemisphere, suggesting crossed-cerebellar diaschisis in this model. Understanding the endogenous response to hypothermia might improve adjuvant interventions and expand the clinical utility of this intervention.