Effect of Hyperbaric Oxygen on Bcl-2 Expression after Spinal Cord Injury in Rats

Objective To investigate the effect and significance of hyperbaric oxygen(HBO)on expression of Bcl-2 protein after spinal cord injury in rats.Methods Fifty-four female adult Wistar rats,weighing between 250 and 300 g,were randomly divided into sham operation group,spinal cord injured group and experimental group.The spinal cord injury was induced by Allen′s method.Rats in experimental group were treated with HBO,while the rats in other two groups were rearing under conventional condition.Animals were sacrificed at different time points and tissues were collected.The expression of Bcl-2 protein and the change of spinal cord histology were detected by immunochemistry and hematoxylin-eosin(HE) staining.Results The HE staining results of histology showed structural disorder of spinal cord,hemorrhage,edema,and a number of vacuolation in injured spinal cord;the above mentioned symptoms were completely relieved in HBO group but not in sham operation group.The immunochemistry results showed only a few cells in sham operation group were positive for Bcl2,which was widely visible in injured group and experimental group;significantly increased number of Bcl-2-positive cells were observed in experimental group compared with the spinal cord injured group(P 0.05).Conclusion The HBO inhibits the apoptosis of neuron by increasing the expression of Bcl-2 protein,and thus play a therapeutic role for spinal cord injury.