Neural Regeneration Research ›› 2015, Vol. 10 ›› Issue (11): 1836-1840.doi: 10.4103/1673-5374.170314

Previous Articles     Next Articles

Combination of fasudil and celecoxib promotes the recovery of injured spinal

  

  1. 1 Key Laboratory of Molecular Biology for Sinomedicine, Yunnan Key Laboratory for Enthnomedicine, Kunming, Yunnan Province, China
    2 Initiative Team of Microenvironment, Yunnan University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Kunming, Yunnan Province, China
  • Received:2015-06-16 Online:2015-12-07 Published:2015-12-07
  • Contact: Wei-gang Duan, Ph.D.,deardwg@126.com.
  • Supported by:

    The study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China, No. 81060109, and a grant from the Yunnan Provincial Department of Science & Technology in China, No. 2008CD150.

PDF

876

Abstract:

Resistance mechanisms of rho-associated kinase (ROCK) inhibitors are associated with the enhanced expression of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2). The therapeutic effects of ROCK on nervous system diseases might be enhanced by COX-2 inhibitors. This study investigated the synergistic effect of the combined use of the ROCK inhibitor fasudil and a COX-2 inhibitor celecoxib on spinal cord injury in a rat model established by transecting the right half of the spinal cord at T11. Rat models were orally administrated with celecoxib (20 mg/kg) and/or intramuscularly with fasudil (10 mg/kg) for 2 weeks. Results demonstrated that the combined use of celecoxib and fasudil significantly decreased COX-2 and Rho kinase II expression surrounding the lesion site in rats with spinal cord injury, improved the pathomorphology of the injured spinal cord, and promoted the recovery of motor function. Moreover, the effects of the drug combination were better than celecoxib or fasudil alone. This study demonstrated that the combined use of fasudil and celecoxib synergistically enhanced the functional recovery of injured spinal cord in rats.

Key words: nerve regeneration, Rho kinase, fasudil, cyclooxygenase-2, celecoxib, spinal cord injury, NSFC grant, neural regeneration