Dexamethasone and betamethasone protect against LPS-induced brain damage in the neonatal rats

The aim of this study is to test whether dexamethasone (Dex) and betamethasone (Beta), two of the most commonly used corticosteroids, protect against lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced white matter damage and neurobehavioral dysfunction. LPS or sterile saline was injected into the brain white matter of rat pups at postnatal day 5 (P5) and Dex or Beta was given intraperitoneally to the rat pups 1 h before the LPS microinjection. Brain inflammatory response, brain damage, and myelination were examined at P6, P8 and P14. Neurobehavioral tests were performed from P3 through P22. Our results demonstrate that Dex and Beta markedly diminish the LPS-induced brain inflammatory response, restore myelin basic protein (MBP) expression and alleviate lateral ventricle dilation. Both corticosteroids demonstrate significant protection against most of LPS-induced behavioral deficits, including those in rearing, vibrissa-elicited forelimb-placing, beam walking, learning and elevated plus-maze test. Notably, only Beta improved the locomotion and stereotype dysfunction. In contrast to their beneficial effects, neither drug prevented LPS-induced delay in body weight gain from P6 through P21. Our study suggests that if their adverse effects are minimized, corticosteroids may be the potential candidate drugs to prevent brain damage in premature infants.