Role of neurosteroids in experimental 3-nitropropionic acid induced neurotoxicity in rats.

Huntington's disease is an autosomal dominant, progressive, and fatal neurodegenerative disease characterized by motor and non-motor symptoms. Systemic administration of 3-nitropropionic acid, a complex II inhibitor of the electron transport chain induces selective striatal lesions in rodents. Neurosteroids are synthesized in central nervous system, able to modulate GABAA receptor function and has been reported to have neuroprotective action. The present study has been designed to investigate the role of neurosteroids such as progesterone and pregnenolone which are positive and negative modulators of GABA respectively against 3-nitropropionic acid induced experimental Huntington's disease. Systemic administration of 3-nitropropionic acid (10mg/kg i.p.) for 14 days significantly reduced body weight, locomotor activity, motor coordination, balance beam walk performance, antioxidant defense enzymes (reduced glutathione and catalase) and significantly increase oxidative stress markers (lipid peroxidation and nitrite level) in striatum and cortex. 3-Nitropropionic acid treatment also increases pro-inflammatory cytokines (TNF-α and IL-1ß) level in striatum. Progesterone (10, 20mg/kg/day i.p.) treatments for 14 days significantly reversed the behavioral, antioxidant defense enzymes, oxidative stress marker and pro-inflammatory cytokines as compared to the 3-Nitropropionic acid treated group. Pregnenolone (1 and 2mg/kg i.p.), a negative modulator of GABAA pretreatment significantly reversed the protective effect of progesterone on behavioral and biochemical parameters. The results of the present study suggest that the positive GABAergic modulation may be beneficial for the treatment of motor disorder.

Pharmacological activation of heme oxygenase (HO)-1/carbon monoxide pathway prevents the development of peripheral neuropathic pain in Wistar rats.

Recent studies have emphasized the contribution of neuroinflammation and oxido-nitrosative stress to neuropathic pain. Both, heme oxygenase (HO)-1 and carbon monoxide (CO) play an important role in regulating free radical generation and inflammation. Herein, we investigated the role of HO-1/CO pathway, by using hemin, a selective HO activator, and CO-releasing molecule (CORM)-2, a CO-releasing agent, in rat sciatic nerve chronic constriction injury (CCI)-induced neuropathic pain. CCI rats exhibited full development of behavioral hypersensitivity symptoms, including cold allodynia, mechanical and thermal hyperalgesia and also exhibit of a significant increase in spinal cord pro-inflammatory cytokines (TNF-α and IL-1ß) and oxido-nitrosative stress markers, both in spinal cord and ipsilateral sciatic nerve homogenate. Spinal (10 and 30 µg/rat, intrathecal (i.t.)), but not systemic (5 and 10 mg/kg, subcutaneous (s.c.)), administration of hemin for 14 days significantly prevented the development of behavioral hypersensitivity. Further, simultaneous administration of hemin via spinal (10 µg/rat, i.t.) and systemic (5 mg/kg, s.c.) routes led to a more pronounced inhibition of the development of behavioral hypersensitivity. Further, administration of CORM-2 (1 and 5 mg/kg, s.c.), dose-dependently and most effectively, prevented the development of behavioral hypersensitivity. Both hemin and CORM-2 produced ameliorative beneficial effects that paralleled with the extent of reduction of oxido-nitrosative stress and pro-inflammatory cytokines. Also, hemin and CORM-2 significantly improved the levels of HO-1 and activity of anti-oxidant enzymes such as superoxide dismutase and catalase. Thus, it may be concluded that chronic pharmacological activation of HO-1/CO pathway may prevent the development of behavioral symptoms of neuropathic pain, through an activation of anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant mechanisms.