Protective effects of erythropoietin on injured brain tissues in rats

Objective To explore protective effect of erythropoietin on cerebral tissues after brain injury and its mechanism in rats. Methods Fifty-five adult SD rats were randomly divided into sham operation group (n=5), control group (n=25) and the EPO treatment group (n=25). The rats in the latter two groups were redivided into 5 subgroups of 5 rats each respectively according to different time after the injury. The traumatic brain injury was induced by Feeney et al method. The neurobehavioral score and cerebral water content in all the groups were determined. The serum levels of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and interleukin-1β (IL-1β) were detected respectively by radioimmunoassary. Results The neurobehavioral scores were significantly higher in the EPO treatment group than that in the control group 24～168 h after the injury (P0.05). The brain water content was significantly lower in the treatment group than that in the control group 48～168 h after the injury (P0.05). The serum level of TNF-α was significantly lower in the treatment group than that in the control group 6～168 h after the injury (P0.05). The serum level of IL-1β was significantly lower in the treatment group than that in the control group 24～168 h after the injury (P0.05). Conclusion It is suggested that EPO may have protective effect on the cerebral tissues after the brain injury via the downregulation of the serum levels of TNF-α and IL-1β.