Effect of resveratrol injection on apoptosis of nerve cells and signal transduction pathways after spinal cord injuries in rats

Objective:To study the effect of resveratrol injection on apoptosis of nerve cells and signal transduction pathways after spinal cord injuries in Rats. Methods:Rat model of spinal cord(T8) injury according to the model of Allen's weight hit. 27 rats were randomly assigned into three groups(n =9): Sham group,Control group,Res group. At 72 hours,the morphological changes of apoptotic neurons were observed by electron microscopic; the Bcl-2,Bax and Caspase-3 and p38MAPK expression were observed by immunohistochemical staining and detected by Western blot analysis.Results:Resveratrol treatment inhibited injury-induced apoptosis as assessed by electrical microscopy; the results of immunohistochemical staining and Western blot that the Bcl-2 and Bax protein expression in the spinal cord tissue of sham-operated group was low. However,in the control group,Bax protein was higher and Bcl-2 protein was lower than that in sham group(P 0. 05). There was a disproportion between the two proteins. We also found that the Caspase-3 and p38MAPK were significantly activated,and the neuronal apoptosis increased significantly. Compared to the control group,the expression of Bax protein in resveratrol group was significantly reduced(P 0. 05) and the Bcl-2 protein expression increased significantly(P 0. 05).The activation of Caspase-3 and p38MAPK was inhibited(P 0. 05). The ultrastructure injury of spinal cord tissue was improved and the neuronal apoptosis decreased significantly. Conclusion: Resveratrol can prevent apoptosis of nerve cells after spinal cord injury by elevating the ratio of Bcl-2 /Bax,inhibiting the activation of Caspase-3 and p38MAPK and improving ultrastructure of spinal cord tissue. All the results above indicate that Res has protective effects which may exert through modulating apoptosis of spinal cord after spinal cord injury.