ABSTRACT
The aim of this study was to investigate the neuroprotective effects of ketamine during acute spinal cord injury in rats. Sprague Dawley (SD) rats (N = 70) were randomly divided into three groups: sham-operated (N = 10), control (N = 30), and treatment (N = 30) groups. The moderate spinal cord injury model was established. After injury, the sham-operated group received no drug, the treatment group received intraperitoneal ketamine injections, and the control group received intraperitoneal normal saline injections. Serum levels of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin-6 (IL-6), and spinal cord malondialdehyde (MDA) were assessed, and nerve cell apoptosis was evaluated in each group at varying time points. After spinal cord injury, TNF-α, IL-6, and MDA levels, and the number of TUNEL-positive cells among 2500 cells significantly increased (P < 0.05). Further, compared with the control group, the treatment group showed significantly lower TNF-α, IL-6, and MDA levels, and fewer TUNEL-positive cells among 2500 cells at each time point (P < 0.05). Our data indicate that ketamine exerts a neuroprotective effect on injured spinal cord.
Subject(s)
Ketamine/pharmacology , Neuroprotective Agents/pharmacology , Spinal Cord Injuries/prevention & control , Spinal Cord/drug effects , Acute Disease , Animals , Apoptosis/drug effects , Excitatory Amino Acid Antagonists/administration & dosage , Excitatory Amino Acid Antagonists/pharmacology , In Situ Nick-End Labeling , Injections, Intraperitoneal , Interleukin-6/blood , Ketamine/administration & dosage , Male , Malondialdehyde/metabolism , Neuroprotective Agents/administration & dosage , Random Allocation , Rats, Sprague-Dawley , Spinal Cord/metabolism , Spinal Cord/pathology , Spinal Cord Injuries/blood , Time Factors , Treatment Outcome , Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha/bloodABSTRACT
The ubiquitin-conjugating enzyme 2B gene (UBE2B) is involved in the regular and symmetric organization of the fibrous sheath of sperm flagella. This study aimed to examine the relationship between single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in UBE2B and infertility in Northeast Chinese men. We carried out a polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis for SNPs in 312 fertile males and 388 infertile males in Northeast China. Taking advantage of the high degree of linkage disequilibrium among SNPs surrounding UBE2B (r(2) > 0.90), we selected 2 haplotype-tagging SNPs with a minor allele frequency of 5% or greater (rs17167484: g.-293T>G and rs3777373: g.20016A>G) that captured the majority of the genetic variations in a 40-kbp region of this gene. No significant differences between cases and controls were found in the allelic and genotype distribution of the 2 SNPs. However, the haplotype analysis for the 2 SNPs showed that the GA haplotype was significantly associated with a greater than 3-fold decreased risk of male infertility (P = 0.003). Because the frequency of the GA haplotype (1.1%) is relatively low in Chinese men, such a significant finding may occur by chance, but the results are still significant after multiple comparison adjustments (P = 0.012 after Bonferroni's correction). We conclude that the UBE2B polymorphisms g.-293T>G, g.20016A>G and g.9157A>G are not associated with male infertility, and the GA haplotype is likely a protective factor for male fertility in Northeast Chinese men.