engleski

Spinal Cord Injury : an Experimental Model in Rabbits : the Effect of Various Treatments on the Level of Free Fatty Acids

Spinal cord trauma is a serious disabling disease in the young and middle-aged population. Understanding the molecular mechanism of pathophysiology involved in nervous tissue damage opens up new research possibilities and leads towards the discovery of efficient therapies. The release of free fatty acids (FFAs), due to the activation of membrane phospholipases (PL) and lipases, is one of the first pathophysiological events that follows primary trauma to the spinal cord, independently of the type of injury. FFAs are components of membrane phospholipids, having an important role in maintaining the structure and functions of the cell membranes. In this experiment we followed the effect of indomethacin, a potent inhibitor of endogenous prostaglandin synthesis, the effect of hyperbaric oxygenation, a potent inhibitor of tissue hypoxia, as well as the effect produced by combining these therapeutical approaches on the level of palmitic (C16:0), stearic (C18:0), oleic (C18:1), arachidonic (C20:4) and docosahexaenoic (C22:6) acids in an experimental model of a spinal cord injury (SCI) in rabbits. Spinal cord samples from the impact injury site were taken and frozen in liquid nitrogen. Modified method by Folch was used for the isolation and purification of total lipids. The FFAs were separated from the total lipid extract by preparative thin-layer chromatography. Free fatty acids, in the form of the corresponding methyl esters, were identified using gas chromatography. The quantification was done using the internal standard. The level of all analysed free fatty acids was increased in the spinal cord of experimental animals after neurotrauma. Treatment with indomethacin and hyperbaric oxygenation, as well as the combinations of hyperbaric oxygenation with the indomethacin resulted in a significant decrease of the level of the analysed FFAs, caused by neurotrauma. These results contribute to the understanding of the mechanisms of the neuronal damage caused by an experimental trauma and to the search for an efficient therapy.

free fatty acids; spinal cord injury; indomethacin; hyperbaric oxygenation; rabbits

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