Adenosine triphosphate promotes locomotor recovery after spinal cord injury by activating mammalian target of rapamycin pathway in rats

doi:10.3969/j.issn.1673-5374.2013.02.001

Abstract

Abstract:

The mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) pathway plays an important role in neuronal growth, proliferation and differentiation. To better understand the role of mTOR pathway involved in the induction of spinal cord injury, rat models of spinal cord injury were established by modified Allen's stall method and interfered for 7 days by intraperitoneal administration of mTOR activator adenosine triphosphate and mTOR kinase inhibitor rapamycin. At 1–4 weeks after spinal cord injury induction, the Basso, Beattie and Bresnahan locomotor rating scale was used to evaluate rat locomotor function, and immunohistochemical staining and western blot analysis were used to detect the expression of nestin (neural stem cell marker), neuronal nuclei (neuronal marker), neuron specific enolase, neurofilament protein 200 (axonal marker), glial fibrillary acidic protein (astrocyte marker), Akt, mTOR and signal transduction and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3). Results showed that adenosine triphosphate-mediated Akt/mTOR/STAT3 pathway increased endogenous neural stem cells, induced neurogenesis and axonal growth, inhibited excessive astrogliosis and improved the locomotor function of rats with spinal cord injury.

Key words: neural regeneration, spinal cord injury, serine/threonine-specific protein kinase, mammalian target of rapamycin pathway, signal transduction and activator of transcription 3, adenosine triphosphate, signal pathway, rapamycin, photographs-containing paper, neuroregeneration

Zhengang Sun, Lingyun Hu, Yimin Wen, Keming Chen, Zhenjuan Sun, Haiyuan Yue, Chao Zhang. Adenosine triphosphate promotes locomotor recovery after spinal cord injury by activating mammalian target of rapamycin pathway in rats[J]. Neural Regeneration Research, 2013, 8(2): 101-110.

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