Effect of pheniramine maleate on reperfusion injury in brain tissue

Abstract

Background: The aim of this study was to investigate the protective effects of methylprednisolone (Pn), which is a potent anti-inflammatory agent, and pheniramine maleate (Ph), which is an antihistaminic with some anti-inflammatory effects, on reperfusion injury in brain developing after ischemia of the left lower extremity of rats.

Material and methods: Twenty-eight randomly selected male Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into 4 groups: Group 1 was the control group, Group 2 was the sham group (I/R), Rats in Group 3 were subjected to I/R and given Ph, and rats in Group 4 were subjected to I/R and given Pn. A tourniquet was applied at the level of left groin region of subjects in the I/R group after induction of anesthesia. One h of ischemia was performed with no drug administration. In the Ph group, half of a total dose of 10 mg/kg Ph was administered intraperitoneally before ischemia and the remaining half before reperfusion. In the Pn group, subjects received a single dose of 50 mg/kg Pn intraperitoneally at the 30th min of ischemia. Brains of all subjects were removed after 24 h for examination.

Results: Malondialdehyde (MDA) levels of the prefrontal cortex were significantly lower in the Ph group than in the I/R group (p<0.05). Superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GPx) enzyme activities were found to be significantly higher in the Ph group than in the I/R group (p<0.05). Histological examination demonstrated that Ph had protective effects against I/R injury developing in the brain tissue.

Conclusions: Ph has a protective effect against ischemia/reperfusion injury created experimentally in rat brains.

Figure 1

(A) Effects of Pheniramine and Methylprednisolone treatment on MDA levels in rat brain cortex. Data are mean ± SEM. * P<0.05 compared with the I/R group. (B) Effects of Pheniramin and Methylprednisolone treatment on SOD activity in rat brain cortex. Data are mean ± SEM. * P<0.05 compared with the I/R group. (C) Effects of Pheniramin and Methylprednisolone treatment on GPx activity in rat brain cortex. Data are mean ± SEM. * P<0.05 compared with the I/R group.

Figure 2

Light microscopic images of rat brain cortex sections. (A) Control, (B) I/R, (C) Pheniramine, (D) Methylprednisolone treated group. Upper (I): Cresyl violet-stained sections of the rat brain cortex. The morphology of neurons in the control group was normal. In I/R group, increased number of cells with dark blue and shrunken morphology can be seen (arrows). Middle (II): TUNEL staining. Representative photomicrographs of TUNEL-positive cells (arrows). Lower (III): Caspase-3 immunoreactivity. Arrows indicate caspase-3 positive cells.

Figure 3

Quantitative analysis of TUNEL-positive cells and caspase 3-positive cells in the rat brain cortex. Data are mean ±SEM. * P<0.05, compared with the I/R group.