Atorvastatin protects GABAergic and dopaminergic neurons in the nigrostriatal system in an experimental rat model of transient focal cerebral ischemia
Abstract
Introduction: Cerebral ischemia is the third leading cause of death and the primary cause of permanent disability worldwide. Atorvastatin is a promising drug with neuroprotective effects that may be useful for the treatment of stroke. However, the effects of atorvastatin on specific neuronal populations within the nigrostriatal system following cerebral ischemia are unknown.
Objective: To evaluate the effects of atorvastatin on dopaminergic and GABAergic neuronal populations in exofocal brain regions in a model of transient occlusion of the middle cerebral artery.
Materials and methods: Twenty-eight male eight-week-old Wistar rats were used in this study. Both sham and ischemic rats were treated with atorvastatin (10 mg/kg) or carboxymethylcellulose (placebo) by gavage at 6, 24, 48 and 72 hours post-reperfusion. We analyzed the immunoreactivity of glutamic acid decarboxylase and tyrosine hydroxylase in the globus pallidus, caudate putamen and substantia nigra.
Results: We observed neurological damage and cell loss in the caudate putamen following ischemia. We also found an increase in tyrosine hydroxylase immunoreactivity in the medial globus pallidus and substantia nigra reticulata, as well as a decrease in glutamic acid decarboxylase immunoreactivity in the lateral globus pallidus in ischemic animals treated with a placebo. However, atorvastatin treatment was able to reverse these effects, significantly decreasing tyrosine hydroxylase levels in the medial globus pallidus and substantia nigra reticulata and significantly increasing glutamic acid decarboxylase levels in the lateral globus pallidus.
Conclusion: Our data suggest that post-ischemia treatment with atorvastatin can have neuro-protective effects in exofocal regions far from the ischemic core by modulating the GABAergic and dopaminergic neuronal populations in the nigrostriatal system, which could be useful for preventing neurological disorders.
Downloads
Some similar items:
- Mario Francisco Guerrero, Elements for the effective evaluation of natural products with possible antihypertensive effects , Biomedica: Vol. 29 No. 4 (2009)
- Larry Niño, Use of the function semivariogram and kriging estimation in the spacial analysis of Aedes aegypti (Diptera: Culicidae) distributions , Biomedica: Vol. 28 No. 4 (2008)
- Elpidia Poveda, Pilar Trujillo, Francisco Ruiz, Elizabeth Lopez, Glucose and insulin levels in Wistar rats submitted to high fat diet and treatment with mimetic leptin peptides , Biomedica: Vol. 28 No. 1 (2008)
- Lauro Figueroa, Francisco Díaz, Avelardo Camacho, Eliseo Díaz, Rolando Marvin, Activity induced by androsterone and hemisuccinate of androsterone on perfusion pressure and vascular resistance , Biomedica: Vol. 29 No. 4 (2009)
- Ricardo Sánchez, Gerardo Téllez, Luis Eduardo Jaramillo, Age of onset symptoms and gender in schizophrenic spectrum disorders , Biomedica: Vol. 32 No. 2 (2012)
- Diana Urrego, Alejandro Múnera, Julieta Troncoso, Peripheral facial nerve lesion induced long-term dendritic retraction in pyramidal cortico-facial neurons , Biomedica: Vol. 31 No. 4 (2011)
- Biviana Andrea Duque, Diego Aranzazu, Piedad Agudelo-Flórez, Andrés F. Londoño, Víctor H. Quiroz, Juan David Rodas, Rattus norvegicus as an indicator of circulation of Capillaria hepatica and Taenia taeniaeformis on a groceries trade center of Medellín, Colombia , Biomedica: Vol. 32 No. 4 (2012)
- Edgar Alfonso, Álvaro Sanabria, Mario Castillo, Surgeons overestimate the risk of malignancy in thyroid nodules, evaluation of subjective estimates using a bayesian analysis , Biomedica: Vol. 31 No. 4 (2011)
- Elpidia Poveda, Paola Ayala, Milena Rodríguez, Edgar Ordóñez, Cesar Baracaldo, Willman Delgado, Martha Guerra, Effects of vegetal oil supplementation on the lipid profile of Wistar rats . , Biomedica: Vol. 25 No. 1 (2005)
- Silvana Marisa Montenegro, María Cristina Tarrés, Juan Carlos Picena, Stella Maris Martínez, Feeding behavior and glycemic profile in two lines of rats with genetic diabetes. , Biomedica: Vol. 25 No. 4 (2005)
Article metrics | |
---|---|
Abstract views | |
Galley vies | |
PDF Views | |
HTML views | |
Other views |