ACLS
HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced]


     

This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Right arrow Citation Map
Services
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow reprints & permissions
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Chen, G.
Right arrow Articles by Hang, C.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Chen, G.
Right arrow Articles by Hang, C.
Annals of Clinical & Laboratory Science 38:65-74 (2008)
© 2008 Association of Clinical Scientists

Progesterone Administration Modulates TLRs/NF-{kappa}B Signaling Pathway in Rat Brain after Cortical Contusion

Gang Chen1, Jixin Shi1, Wei Jin1, Lin Wang1, Weiying Xie2, Jie Sun2 and Chunhua Hang1
1 Departments of Neurosurgery and 2 Anesthesiology, Jinling Hospital, School of Medicine, Nanjing University, Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, China

Address correspondence to Chunhua Hang, M.D., Dept. of Neurosurgery, Jinling Hospital, 305 East Zhongshan Road, Nanjing 210002, P.R.China; tel 86 25 8197 3916; fax 86 25 8481 7581; email nju_neurosurgery{at}163.com.

This study investigated whether progesterone administration modulates toll-like receptors (TLRs) and the nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-{kappa}B) signaling pathway in the injured rat brain following traumatic brain injury (TBI). Right parietal cortical contusion was made by a weight-dropping method. Male rats were given 0 or 16 mg/kg injections of progesterone at postinjury hr 1 and 6 and on days 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5. Brain samples were extracted at 5 days after trauma. We measured mRNA expression of TLR2 and TLR4 by reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), NF-{kappa}B binding activity by electrophoretic mobility shift assay (EMSA), concentrations of interleukin-1β (IL-1β), tumor necrosis factor-{alpha} (TNF-{alpha}), and interleukin-6 (IL-6) by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) expression by immunohistochemistry, and brain damage by terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP nick end-labeling (TUNEL). The results showed that TBI induces strong up-regulation of TLR2, TLR4, NF-{kappa}B, pro-inflammatory cytokines, and ICAM-1 in the pericontusional area. Administration of progesterone following TBI down-regulates the cortical levels of these agents related to the TLRs/NF-{kappa}B signaling pathway. After progesterone administration, apoptotic TUNEL-positive cells in the injured brain were significantly decreased. In summary, post-TBI progesterone administration attenuates the TLRs/NF-{kappa}B signaling pathway in injured rat brain, and this may be a mechanism whereby progesterone improves the outcome following TBI.

Keywords: progesterone, traumatic brain injury, toll-like receptors, nuclear factor-kappaB






HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
Copyright © 2008 by the Association of Clinical Scientists.