ABSTRACT
Objective:
To observe any effect of ultrashortwave (USW)
therapy on inflammatory
cytokines and the MAPK pathway of
rats with a
spinal cord injury.
Methods:
Seventy-nine
Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into a
control group ( n=35), an intervention group ( n=35) and a sham group ( n=9). Allen′s
method was used to establish a
contusion model of SCI in the
rats of the control and intervention groups, while the sham group′s spinal
tissues were exposed but not stricken. Beginning twenty-four hours after SCI modeling, the intervention group was given 7min of USW
therapy daily, five days a week till the day of sacrifice for sampling the target area of
spinal cord for tests. Then,
motion function was evaluated using Basso, Beattie and Bresnahan (BBB) scoring. One, three and seven days after the SCI modeling,
immunofluorescence and
western blotting were employed to observe any changes in inflammatory factors and the MAPK pathway in the lesioned area.
Results:
Fourteen days after the modeling the average BBB score of the intervention group was significantly higher than the
control group′s average. Moreover, 7 days after the modeling the average content of the domains containing
protein 3 (NLRP3),
interleukin-6 (
IL-6),
IL-6 receptor and
tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) in the target area of the
spinal cord of sham group showed significantly lower levels than in the other 2 groups. And the levels in the intervention group were significantly lower than in the
control group. Seven days after the modeling the number of
cells positive for
zinc finger protein 36 (TTP) in the lesioned area of the intervention group was significantly greater than among the
control group. At the same
time the levels of MAPK-activated
protein kinase 2 (MK2), phosphorylated-
mitogen-activated protein kinase-activated version (p-MK2) and TTP in the control and intervention groups were significantly higher than in the sham group. And there were significant differences between the intervention group and
control group in the levels of MK2, p-MK2 and TTP.
Conclusion:
Ultrashortwave
therapy can inhibit
inflammation by regulating the MAPK inflammatory pathway, promoting the recovery of
motion functions, at least in
rats.