The present study was to investigate the effects of infusing remifentanil-poly-caprolactone (REM-PCL) through the abdominal aorta on spinal cord ischemia reperfusion injury (SCIRI). The model of SCIRI was created by clamping the infrarenal aortic in thirty-six New Zealand white rabbits, which were randomly divided into sham group (group S), control group (group C), and REM-PCL group (group R) with 12 rabbits in each one. The spinal cord microcirculatory blood flow (SCMBF) and blood flow rate (BFR) were monitored before ischemia, 15 min, 30 min, 60 min and 120 min after reperfusion, respectively. Neurologic Function was evaluated before ischemia, 6h, 12h and 24h after reperfusion. The concentration of serum neuron-specific enolase (NSE), interleukin-lβ (IL-lβ) and interleukin-8 (IL-8) were monitored before ischemia, 45 min after ischemia, 30 min, 60 min, 6 h, 12 h and 24 h after reperfusion. The abnormal rate of motor neuron of spinal cord tissues and the level of superoxide dismutase (SOD), reactive oxygen species (ROS), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-PX), malondialdehyde (MDA), total anti-oxidation capacity (T-AOC) and mitochondrial swelling degree (MSD) in neural mitochondria were determined before ischemia, 45 min after clamping, 60 min and 120 min after reperfusion. As a result, the neural mitochondrial SOD, GSH-PX and T-AOC decreased while ROS, MDA, MSD, IL-lβ, IL-8 and NSE distinctly increased after clamping of the abdominal aorta as compared to the value before ischemia in group C (P < 0.01). Neurologic function scores recovered more rapidly in group R than those in group C during reperfusion (P < 0.01). The neural mitochondrial SOD, GSH-PX and T-AOC were distinctly higher while ROS, MDA, MSD, IL-lβ, IL-8 and NSE were distinctly lower in group R than those in group C (P < 0.01). The abnormal rate of motor neuron was significantly higher in group C during reperfusion than that in group R (P < 0.01). It has been shown that the intra-aortic REM-PCL infusion can alleviate SCIRI by inhibiting inflammatory response and improving mitochondrial anti-oxidation capacity.
Citation: FANGHua, LIHuafeng, ZHANGWeijing, YANGMiao, ZHANGFangxiang, ZHANGJianping, WANGQuanyun, WANGRurong, LIUJin. Experimental Study of Remifentanil-poly-caprolactone Infusion through Abdominal Aorta against Spinal Cord Ischemia-Reperfusion Injury. Journal of Biomedical Engineering, 2016, 33(4): 735-740. doi: 10.7507/1001-5515.20160120 Copy