Neuroprotection of melatonin on spinal cord injury by activating autophagy and inhibiting apoptosis via SIRT1/AMPK signaling pathway.

Neuroprotection of melatonin on spinal cord injury by activating autophagy and inhibiting apoptosis via SIRT1/AMPK signaling pathway. Biotechnol Lett. 2020 Jun 08;: Authors: Gao K, Niu J, Dang X Abstract The effect of melatonin (MT) on spinal cord injury (SCI) has attracted increasing research attention. However, the specific role and molecular mechanism of MT on SCI have not been elucidated. An experiment was performed to investigate the effect and molecular mechanism of MT on the neuronal autophagy after SCI and its effect on the recovery of nerve function. The rats were randomly divided into four treatment groups: the SCI+MT+EX527 (SIRT1 inhibitor), SCI+MT, SCI, and sham operation groups. On the 14th day after SCI, MT significantly promoted the recovery of motor function in the hind limbs according to the results of Basso, Beattie, and Bresnahan scores. At the same time, MT treatment resulted in reduced activation of cleaved-caspase-3, cleaved-caspase-9, and terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick end labeling-positive neurons and increased the survival of motoneurons in the anterior horn of the spinal cord on the 14th day after SCI, which exerted its neuroprotection. Furthermore, western blot and immunofluorescence double staining were performed to verify the molecular mechanism of effect of MT on SCI, and results showed the significantly upregulated expressions of Beclin-1, light chain-3B, SIRT1, p-AMPK proteins in the s...
Source: Biotechnology Letters - Category: Biotechnology Authors: Tags: Biotechnol Lett Source Type: research