Effect of minocycline on expression of caspase-3 and apoptosis after spinal cord injury in rats

[Objective]To investigate the effect of minocycline on expression of Caspase-3 and apoptosis after spinal cord injury (SCI) in rats.[Method]Fifty-six adult SD rats with spinal cord injury caused pressures were divided randomly into two groups: intravenous injection of minocyeline group (group A), and intravenous injection of normal saline group (group B). The rats were sacrificed at 4、 8h, l、3、 7、14d and 21d after surgery, and then the tissue sections of injured spinal cord were stained and evaluated with hematoxylin and eosin(HE), immunohistoehemistry and terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP nick end labeling (TUNEL) method.[Result] The histopathological changes in injured spinal cord tissue observed with HE staining microscopic examination in group B was worse than that in group A. Expression of Caspase-3 and apoptotic cells were observed both in two groups, and the apoptotie index and expression of Caspase-3 in group B was higher than that in group A( P0.01).[Conclusion]The result demonstrated that minocycline could inhibit expression of Caspase-3 and apoptosis after SCI in rats.