Anti-Inflammatory Effects of Butyrate and β-Hydroxybutyrate in Spinal Cord Injuries / 中国生物化学与分子生物学报

ABSTRACT

A spinal cord injury is a serious disease, and there is currently no effective treatment. The inflammatory reactions start within a few hours after damages to spinal cord tissues and peak within a few days and they may continue for several years. Reducing the inflammatory response after the spinal cord injury is one of the important treatment strategies. Butyrate and β-hydroxybutyrate are two closely related substances. They have similar structures and differ in only one hydroxyl group. They have attracted widespread attention because of their good anti-inflammatory properties in many diseases. Recently it has been demonstrated that butyrate and β-hydroxybutyrate can inhibit the activity of the NF-κB / NLRP3 inflamma-some signaling pathway and reduce the expression of pro-inflammatory factors; or by enhancing the level of antioxidant molecules, it can reduce the inflammatory response after spinal cord injury. Therefore, butyrate and β-hydroxybutyrate may be promising treatments after a spinal cord injury. Here we review the structure and production of butyrate and β-hydroxybutyrate, the mechanism of anti-inflammatory effects in a spinal cord injury, and the treatment prospects, in order to provide theoretical references for researchers in this field.