bq-123 and Spinal-Cord-Injuries

Endothelin-1 (ET-1) contributes to the increased peripheral resistance in heart failure and hypertension. Physical inactivity is associated with cardiovascular disease and characterized by increased vascular tone. In this study, we assess the contribution of ET-1 to the increased vascular tone in the extremely deconditioned legs of spinal cord-injured (SCI) individuals before and after exercise training.. In 8 controls and 8 SCI individuals, bilateral thigh blood flow was measured by plethysmography before and during the administration of an ET(A)/ET(B)-receptor blocker into the femoral artery. In SCI, this procedure was repeated after 6 weeks of electro-stimulated training. In a subset of SCI (n=4), selective ET(A)-receptor blockade was performed to determine the role of the ET(A)-receptors. In controls, dual ET-receptor blockade increased leg blood flow at the infused side (10%, P<0.05), indicating a small contribution of ET-1 to leg vascular tone. In SCI, baseline blood flow was lower compared with controls (P=0.05). In SCI, dual ET-receptor blockade increased blood flow (41%, P<0.001). This vasodilator response was significantly larger in SCI compared with controls (P<0.001). The response to selective ET(A)-receptor blockade was similar to the effect of dual blockade. Electro-stimulated training normalized baseline blood flow in SCI and reduced the response to dual ET-receptor blockade in the infused leg (29%, P=0.04).. ET-1 mediates the increased vascular tone of extremely inactive legs of SCI individuals by increased activation of ET(A)-receptors. Physical training reverses the ET-1-pathway, which normalizes basal leg vascular tone.

Topics: Adult; Antihypertensive Agents; Case-Control Studies; Electric Stimulation Therapy; Endothelin A Receptor Antagonists; Endothelin B Receptor Antagonists; Endothelin-1; Exercise; Female; Femoral Artery; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Muscle, Skeletal; Muscular Atrophy; Oligopeptides; Peptides, Cyclic; Piperidines; Receptor, Endothelin A; Receptor, Endothelin B; Regional Blood Flow; Signal Transduction; Spinal Cord Injuries; Vasodilation

Spinal cord injury (SCI) is a devastating neurologic disorder that often inflicts neuropathic pain, which further impacts negatively on the patient's quality of life. Endothelin peptides, which exert their effects via endothelin A (ETAR) and endothelin B (ETBR) receptors, can contribute to sensory changes associated with inflammatory and neuropathic pain, but their role in nociception following SCI is unknown. At different time points after subjecting male Wistar rats to surgery for compression-induced T10 level SCI, the spinal cord levels of ETAR and ETBR were assessed by Western blot and immunohistochemistry, and the corresponding mRNAs by real-time PCR, alongside recordings of behavioural responses to mechanical stimulation of the hind paws with von Frey hairs. SCI was associated with development of hind paw mechanical allodynia from day 14 onwards, and up-regulation of ETAR and ETBR mRNA in the spinal cord and dorsal root ganglia, and of ETAR protein in the spinal cord. SCI increased ETAR protein expression in spinal grey matter. Treatment on day 21 after surgery with the ETAR selective antagonist BQ-123 (40 and 90 pmol, intrathecally) or the dual ETAR/ETBR antagonist bosentan (30 and 100mg/kg, orally) transiently reduced SCI-induced mechanical allodynia, but the ETBR antagonist BQ-788 was ineffective. Altogether, these data show that SCI upregulates ETAR expression in the spinal cord, which appears to contribute to the hind paw mechanical allodynia associated with this condition. Therapies directed towards blockade of spinal ETAR may hold potential to limit SCI-induced neuropathic pain.

Topics: Animals; Bosentan; Endothelin A Receptor Antagonists; Endothelin B Receptor Antagonists; Gray Matter; Hyperalgesia; Male; Motor Activity; Neuralgia; Peptides, Cyclic; Physical Stimulation; Rats, Wistar; Receptor, Endothelin A; Receptor, Endothelin B; RNA, Messenger; Spinal Cord; Spinal Cord Injuries; Sulfonamides; Touch; White Matter

After spinal cord injury (SCI), the disruption of blood-spinal cord barrier by activation of the endothelin (ET) system is a critical event leading to leukocyte infiltration, inflammatory response and oxidative stress, contributing to neurological disability. In the present study, we showed that blockade of ET receptor A (ETAR) and/or ET receptor B (ETBR) prevented early inflammatory responses directly via the inhibition of neutrophil and monocyte diapedesis and inflammatory mediator production following traumatic SCI in mice. Long-term neurological improvement, based on a series of tests of locomotor performance, occurred only in the spinal cord‑injured mice following blockade of ETAR and ETBR. We also examined the post‑traumatic changes of the micro-environment within the injured spinal cord of mice following blockade of ET receptors. Oxidative stress reflects an imbalance between malondialdehyde and superoxide dismutase in spinal cord‑injured mice treated with vehicle, whereas blockade of ETAR and ETBR reversed the oxidation state imbalance. In addition, hemeoxygenase-1, a protective protease involved in early SCI, was increased in spinal cord‑injured mice following the blockade of ETAR and ETBR, or only ETBR. Matrix metalloproteinase-9, a tissue-destructive protease involved in early damage, was decreased in the injured spinal cord of mice following blockade of ETAR, ETBR or a combination thereof. The findings of the present study therefore suggested an association between ETAR and ETBR in regulating early pathogenesis of SCI and determining the outcomes of long‑term neurological recovery.

Topics: Animals; Cell Movement; Endothelin Receptor Antagonists; Female; Gene Expression Regulation; Heme Oxygenase-1; Inflammation; Malondialdehyde; Matrix Metalloproteinase 9; Mice; Mice, Inbred C57BL; Monocytes; Motor Activity; Neutrophils; Oligopeptides; Peptides, Cyclic; Piperidines; Receptor, Endothelin A; Receptor, Endothelin B; Recovery of Function; Signal Transduction; Spinal Cord; Spinal Cord Injuries; Superoxide Dismutase