Pectolinarigenin promotes functional recovery and inhibits apoptosis in rats following spinal cord injuries

Spinal cord injury (SCI) is a devastating neurological injury that frequently leads to neurological defects and disabilities. The only effective pharmacotherapy currently available is methylprednisolone (MP), which is controversial due to its high incidence of complications, adverse events and ultimately limited efficacy in SCI. Therefore, the development of alternative therapeutic agents for the treatment of SCI is of great clinical significance. In the present study, an acute SCI rat model was induced and, following a modified Allen method, the function of pectolinarigenin (PG) in SCI was investigated. A total of 36 rats were randomly divided into 6 groups (n=6 in each group); a sham surgery group and an SCI + saline group were used as negative controls and an SCI + MP (30 mg/kg) group was used as a positive control. The remaining animals were subdivided into three groups: SCI + PG (10 mg/kg); SCI + PG (30 mg/kg); and SCI + PG (50 mg/kg). Basso-Beattie-Bresnahan locomotor rating scoring was performed to assess functional recovery. Nissl staining and TUNEL staining were used to evaluated neuronal lesion volume and apoptosis, respectively. The results demonstrated that PG significantly improved functional recovery and reduced tissue loss, and neuronal apoptosis. Furthermore, a western blotting assay was conducted to measure the expression of genes associated with apoptosis. The data suggested that PG downregulated the activated caspase-3, caspase-9 and poly-ADP-ribose polymerase expression and reduced the Bax: Bcl2 ratio. The findings of the present study suggested that PG may exert a protective effect against SCI in rats, potentially by inhibiting neuronal apoptosis and PG may therefore serve as a novel therapeutic agent against SCI.