Effects of Buyang Huanwu Decoction on Apoptosis of Nervous Cells and Expressions of Bcl-2 and Bax in the Spinal Cord of Ischemia-Reperfusion Injury in Rabbits

To study the effect of Buyang Huanwu Decoction （补阳还五汤BYHWD） on spinal ischemia-reperfusion injury and explore the possible mechanism involved. Method： 27 model rabbits with ischemia-reperfusion injury were randomly divided into a sham operation group, a model group and a BYHWD-pre-treated group. 24 and 48 hours after the ischemia-reperfusion injury, the motor functions of hind limbs were observed, the expressions of apoptosis-related proteins bcl-2 and Bax in the spinal tissue were investigated with the immunohistochemical methods and apoptosis of nervous cells with TUNEL straining; and the malondialdehyde （MDA） level and superoxide dismutase （SOD） activity in the spinal cord were then determined. Results： BYHWD can improve significantly the motor function of hind limbs, increase SOD activity and decrease the level of MDA, up-regulate expression of Bcl-2 and down-regulated expression of Bax, and depress apoptosis of nervous ceils in the spinal cord caused by the ischemia reperfusion in the rabbits. Conclusion： BYHWD has a protective action on the spinal ischemia-reperfusion injury, and the mechanisms may be related to the decrease of lipid peroxidation and inhibition of apoptosis of nervous cells.

Effects of Buyang Huanwu Decoction on Apoptosis of Nervous Cells and Expressions of Bcl-2 and Bax in the Spinal Cord of Ischemia-Reperfusion Injury in Rabbits

OBJECTIVE: To study the effect of buyang huanwu decoction (Chinese characters: see text] BYHWD) on spinal ischemia-reperfusion injury and explore the possible mechanism involved. METHOD: 27 model rabbits with ischemia-reperfusion injury were randomly divided into a sham operation group, a model group and a BYHWD-pre-treated group. 24 and 48 hours after the ischemia-reperfusion injury, the motor functions of hind limbs were observed, the expressions of apoptosis-related proteins bcl-2 and Bax in the spinal tissue were investigated with the immunohistochemical methods and apoptosis of nervous cells with TUNEL straining; and the malondialdehyde (MDA) level and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity in the spinal cord were then determined. RESULTS: BYHWD can improve significantly the motor function of hind limbs, increase SOD activity and decrease the level of MDA, up-regulate expression of Bcl-2 and down-regulated expression of Bax, and depress apoptosis of nervous cells in the spinal cord caused by the ischemia reperfusion in the rabbits. CONCLUSION: BYHWD has a protective action on the spinal ischemia-reperfusion injury, and the mechanisms may be related to the decrease of lipid peroxidation and inhibition of apoptosis of nervous cells.