Effects of mild hypothermia on the apoptosis of neurocyte in traumatic brain of rats

Objective To investigate the effects of mild hypothermia on the apoptosis of neurocyte and the expression of Bcl-2 gene at different period in traumatic brains of rats. Methods Immunohistochemistry technique and TUNEL were applied respectively to detect the expression of Bcl-2 and neuronal apoptosis. Results The percentage of TUNEL positive cell was lower in experimental groups with mild hypothermia interference at 0.5, 1, 2 hours than in other experimental groups and control groups. The expression of Bcl-2 gene was higher compared with control groups and 2, 3, 4, 5h groups. Conclusions Mild hypothermia interference can suppress neuronal apoptosis in early period of traumatic brain by accelerating the expression of Bcl-2 gene and protect the injured brain tissue .