Summary
Antithrombin (AT) reveals its antiinflammatory activity by promoting endothelial release
of prostacyclin (PGI2) in vivo. Since neuroinflammation is critically involved in the development of ischemia/reperfusion
(I/R)-induced spinal cord injury (SCI), it is possible that AT reduces the I/R-induced
SCI by attenuating the inflammatory responses. We examined this possibility using
rat model of I/R-induced SCI in the present study. AT significantly reduced the mortality
and motor disturbances by inhibiting reduction of the number of motor neurons in animals
subjected to SCI. Microinfarctions of the spinal cord seen after reperfusion were
markedly reduced by AT. AT significantly enhanced the I/R-induced increases in spinal
cord tissue levels of 6-keto-PGF1α, a stable metabolite of PGI2. AT significantly inhibited the I/R-induced increases in spinal cord tissue levels
of TNF-α, rat interleukin-8 and myeloperoxidase. In contrast,Trp49-modified AT did not show any protective effects. Pretreatment with indomethacin significantly
reversed the protective effects of AT.An inactive derivative of factor Xa, which selectively
inhibits thrombin generation, has been shown to fail to reduce SCI.Taken together,
these observations strongly suggested that AT might reduce I/R-induced SCI mainly
by the antiinflammatory effect through promotion of endothelial production of PGI2. These findings also suggested that AT might be a potential neuroprotective agent.
Keywords
Antithrombin - ischemia/reperfusion - spinal cord injury - tumor necrosis factor-α
- prostacyclin