engleski

Effects of pioglitazone on the cortical damage and motor performance following traumatic brain injury in the rat

Aims: Pioglitazone has shown some beneficial effects in various animal models of brain injury. In this study, we investigated whether pioglitazone has effects on some parameters of the parietal cortex tissue damage as well as on the motoric performance following traumatic brain injury (TBI) in rats. Methods: Pioglitazone (3 mg/kg) or vehicle were administered i.p. at 10 minutes, 12, 24 and 48 hours after the TBI induced by the lateral fluid percussion brain injury method. Motor functions were evaluated at post- injury day (PID) 1, 2 and 3 using the modified neurological severity score (mNSS) and rotarod test (RRT). Rats were sacrificed 72 h after TBI and their brains were prepared for histologic analyses. Results: In all the brain-injured animals significant decrease in the mNSS at all investigated time points was detected, with no difference between the vehicle and pioglitazone groups. At PID1, same results were detected using RRT, but on PID2, pioglitazone treated animals seemed to return to the control values while vehicle treated rats still showed motor impairment. On PID3, no difference between the groups was evident. Apoptotic cells were present in parietal cortex of both brain-injured groups but pioglitazone did not have significant effects on this parameter. Significant synaptic perturbations, using synaptophysin as a marker, were not detected. Conclusions: Preliminary results of our study imply limited beneficial effects of pioglitazone on motoric performance in traumatized rats but not on the other investigated parameters in used experimental conditions. This work was supported by project uniri-biomed-18-204 to PD.

traumatic brain injury; pioglitazone; apoptosis; synapses; neurological severity score; rotarod test

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