ABSTRACT

The purpose of this study was to investigate the possible protective effects of low and high dose pregabalin that was administered in rat in a spinal cord ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) study model.

We used 24 Wistar albino rats as subjects in our study. They were divided into 4 groups; randomized Control (C group), I/R (I/R group), I/R-low dose (30 mg/kg) pregabalin (I/R-LP group) and I/R-high dose (200 mg/kg) pregabalin (I/R-HP group). All groups have undergone a laparotomy intervention under anesthesia. In I/R group, a cross clamp was placed in the abdominal aorta just after the laparotomy for 120 minutes (to cause spinal cord ischemia injury) and then reperfusion was achieved by opening the vascular clamp. At the end of the study, kidney tissue was obtained for determining total oxidant status (TOS) and total antioxidant status (TAS) levels, histochemical and immunohistochemical determination.

Total Oxidative Status (TOS) enzyme activity was significantly higher in I/R group when compared to the control, I/R-LP and I/R-HP groups. Likewise, Total Antioxidant Status (TAS) enzyme activity was remarkably higher in I/R group when compared with the C, I/R-LP and I/R-HP groups. VEGF staining has yielded no expression in renal tissues. In microscopical analysis of the tissue slides which were immunohistochemically stained with p53 antibody, some crucial findings have been established as follows: As p53-expressing cells were not detected in the control group, the presence of p53-expressing cells were clearly identified at different intensities in several bowman capsules in the I/R group. However, no expression was detected in general tubules. Interestingly, p53 expression levels were prominently lower in low-dose pregabalin given group and considerably higher in the 200 mg/kg pregabalin administered group, which was more pronounced than the I/R group.

Results established from the current study suggest that pregabalin given at different doses may have a partial protective effect in kidney tissues of rats undergone experimental spinal cord IR injury.