ABSTRACT
Objective Apoptosis was induced by oxidative stress in nerve cells after cerebral ischemia. It further breaks the dy-namic balance of mitochondrial division of fusion. This study aimed to investigate the effect of butylphthalide combined with edaravone treat-ment on the dynamic change of Drp1 and Mfn2 in rats with focal cere-bral ischemia cells and its protection mechanism. Methods 96 rats were divided into 4 groups according to random number table. The 4 groups were ischemia group,butylphthalide group,edaravone group and butylphthalide combined with edaravone groups(combine group),each group divided into three subgroups(3 d,7 d,14 d). Longa-Zea suppository method is adopted to establish the middle cerebral artery occlusion(MCAO)model.Butylphthalide group,edar-avone group and combine group were injected butylphthalide(0.4 g/kg)and/or edaravone(10 mL/kg)peritoneally 2 hours before surgery and 1 day after surgery. The same volume of isotonic saline was given at the same time of the other 3 groups in ischemia group. The cerebral cortex of the left ischemic region was obtained at the day 3,7,14. The evaluation of the curative effect was evaluated with neurological function score.HE staining was used to observe the cerebral cortex neuron morphological structure,protein and mRNA lev-el of Drp1 and Mfn2 was measured by western blot and RT-PCR. Results At the day 3,7,and 14,the neurological function score was higher in ischemia group than the other 3 groups(P<0.05). Compared with the combine group at day 3,7,and 14[(1.06± 0.18),(0.82±0.13),(0.57±0.10)],the neurological function score was elevated in butylphthalide group[(2.02±0.18),(1.23± 0.13),(0.86±0.10)]and edaravone group[(2.08±0.17),(1.23±0.13),(0.85±0.12)](P<0.05). At the same time point,com-pared with the ischemia group,Drp1 protein and mRNA levels were lower in the other 3 groups(P < 0.05)while Mfn2 protein and mRNA levels were elevated(P<0.05). Compared with the butylphthalide group and edaravone group,Drp1 protein and mRNA levels were lower in combine group(P<0.05)while Mfn2 protein and mRNA levels were elevated(P<0.05). Conclusion The protective effect of edaravone combined with butylphthalide is better than single use. Its mechanism may be related to the removing of oxygen free radicals and reducing oxidative stress by edaravone,and the protection of the mitochondria by butylphthalide.