engleski

The Effect of Hyperbaric Oxygenation on the Level of Free Fatty Acids after Experomental Spinal Cord Injury in Rabbits

Spinal cord trauma, followed by nerve tissue damage, is a serious disabling disease in the young and middle age population, but there is no effective drug therapy for traumatised persons. Ischemia and hypoxia, as a result of spinal cord injury (SCI), lead to the nerve tissue damage and deterioration of neural function. Hyperbaric oxygenation (HBO), is a potent inhibitor of tissue hypoxia, and in our study it was tested with the purpose to reduce spinal cord hypoxia caused by the injury. Free fatty acids (FFAs) are components of membrane phospholipids, having an important role in maintaining the structure and functions of the cell membranes. The release of free fatty acids, 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. The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of hyperbaric oxygenation on the level of free palmitic, stearic, oleic, arachidonic and docosahexaenoic acids of injured rabbits. The animals were exposed to hyperbaric oxygenation immediately after the injury, and during the eight subsequent days, at 2.2 ATE pressure of 99.5% oxygen lasting 45 minutes. 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 traumatised animals. Hyperbaric oxygenation treatment induced a significant decrease of the FFAs levels caused by neurotrauma. Understanding of the molecular mechanism of pathophysiology involved in nervous tissue damage opens up new research possibilities and leads towards the discovery of efficient therapies.

free fatty acids; spinal cord injury; HBO; rabbits

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