Protocatechuic acid improves functional recovery after spinal cord injury by attenuating blood-spinal cord barrier disruption and hemorrhage in rats

Publication date: Available online 18 January 2019Source: Neurochemistry InternationalAuthor(s): Chan Sol Park, Jee Youn Lee, Hae Young Choi, Bong Gun Ju, Inchan Youn, Tae Young YuneAbstractAfter spinal cord injury (SCI), blood-spinal cord barrier (BSCB) disruption and hemorrhage lead to blood cell infiltration and progressive secondary injuries including inflammation. Inflammatory response is one of the major events resulting in apoptosis, scar formation and neuronal dysfunction after SCI. Here, we investigated whether protocatechuic acid (PCA), a natural phenolic compound, would attenuate BSCB disruption and hemorrhage, leading to functional improvement after SCI. After a moderate contusion injury at T9, PCA (50 mg/kg) was administrated via intraperitoneal injection immediately, 6 h, and 12 h after SCI, and the same dose of PCA once a day until 7 d after injury. Our data show that PCA inhibited apoptotic cell death of neurons and oligodendrocytes and improved functional recovery after injury. PCA also attenuated BSCB disruption and hemorrhage and reduced the infiltration of neutrophils and macrophages compared to vehicle control. Moreover, PCA inhibited the expression and activation of matrix metalloprotease-9, which is well known to disrupt BSCB after SCI. Furthermore, PCA treatment significantly inhibited the expression of sulfonylurea receptor 1 and transient receptor potential melastatin 4, which are known to mediate hemorrhage at an early stage after SCI. Consi...
Source: Neurochemistry International - Category: Neuroscience Source Type: research