Protective effects of pentoxifylline on the brain following remote burn injury in rats

Objective Inflammatory response plays an important role in burn-induced brain injury.The aim of this study is to investigate the effects of pentoxifylline(PTX) on the burn-induced inflammatory cytokine production,nuclear factor kappa B(NF-κB) activation and glial fibrillary acidic protein(GFAP) in brain.Methods Seventy-eight male Wistar rats were randomly divided into three groups: The sham burn group(n=6),burn +placebo group(n=36)and burn +PTX group(n=36).Burn model was induced in rats via full thickness dermal burn over 40% of the total body surface area.Fifteen minutes following initial burn injury,rats were treated with saline(10 ml/kg) intravenously in burn+placebo group and PTX(50 mg/kg) intravenously in burn+PTX group.In sham group,the rats went through the same mechanical procedures without actually receiving heat.The levels of tumor necrosis factor-alpha(TNF-α),interleukin-6(IL-6) and interleukin-10(IL-10) in the brain tissue at 0.5,1,2,4,8 and 16 h were measured after burn with 6 rats at every time point.The level of NF-κB activation and glial activation were measured at 16h after burn.Sham burn group was measured at 16 h only.NF-κB activation was investigated by electrophoretic mobility shift assay(EMSA).TNF-α,IL-6 and IL-10 were measured by enzyme linked immunosorbance assays(ELISA),and GFAP was investigated by Western blot.Results Compared to the sham burn group,the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines including TNF-α,IL-6 and IL-10 were significantly increased(P0.01) in burn +placebo group.So did the activation level of NF-κB and GFAP(P0.01).Compared with burn group,the production of TNF-α and IL-6,the activation level of NF-κB and GFAP In the burn+PTX group,were significantly lower than those found in burn +placebo group(P0.01),even they were still significantly higher than those in sham burn group.PTX treatment increased the production of IL-10 found in the rats of burn +placebo group(P0.01).Conclusion Early adiminstration of PTX protects the rats from burn-induced brain injury.