Effects Of Tetrandrine Pretreatment On Spinal Cord Ischemia-Reperfusion Injury In Rabbits

Objective: Our study aimed to explore the effects of tetrandrine pretreatment on spinal cord ischemia-reperfusion injury in rabbits. Methods: Forty-eight New Zealand white rabbits were fall into three groups randomly according to the random number table as follows: Ischemia-reperfusion group (I/R group), sham operation group (sham group) and 22.5 mg/kg pretreatment group using 2 g/L tetrandrine solution (Tet+I/R group). After the model establishment and operation, the improved Tarlov score was valued, the permeability of blood spinal cord barrier (BSCB) (valued according to the content of Evans Blue (EB) in spinal cord tissue) was examined, the apoptosis staining of spinal cord cells and the content of apoptosis related protein Bcl-2 and Bax were detected through TUNEL. Results: In the sham group, the improved Tarlov score was 4 on average without dyskinesia. Besides, I/R group had evidently lower improved Tarlov score than sham group and Tet+I/R group (P<0.01). At the same time, Tarlov score of Tet+I/R group was markedly improved comparing to I/R group, but was still lower than that of sham group (P<0.01). In addition, the number of apoptotic cells, EB content, Bax expression, TNF-alpha and IL-6 expression in Tet+I/R group were all lower than those in I/R group. Tet+I/R group had much higher both expression of Bcl-2 and ratio of Bcl-2/Bax than I/R group with statistical difference (P<0.05). Conclusion: Tetrandrine maintains the integrity of blood-spinal cord barrier by reducing spinal cord ischemia-reperfusion injury and neuronal apoptosis. The protective effect may be related to the regulation of Bcl-2/Bax ratio and the reduction of pro-inflammatory factors.