Effects of salidroside pretreatment on expression of tumor necrosis factor-alpha and permeability of blood brain barrier in rat model of focal cerebralischemia-reperfusion injury

Objective: To observe changes in expression of tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha and permeability of blood brain barrier after salidroside pretreatment in rats with injury induced by focal cerebralischemia-reperfusion. Methods: Forty-five male SD rats were randomly divided into three groups (n=15): control group, ischemia-reperfusion (IR) model group, and salidroside pretreatment group. Before the IR model establishment, the rats in the salidroside pretreatment group were intraperitoneally administered with salidroside at a dose of 24 mg/(kg.d) for 7 d. After 30 mm post the last administration, the IR model was induced by occlusion of middle cerebral artery with a filament. After 24 h post the operation, the water content and Evens blue content in the ischemia cerebral hemisphere were determined, and the level of TNF-alpha mRNA was detected by the semi quantitative RT-PCR. Results: Compared with the IR model group, the salidroside pretreatment group had significantly lower (P<0.05) water content and Evens blue content in the ischemia cerebral hemisphere and also had significantly lower (P<0.05) level of TNF-alpha in the ischemic cerebral cortex tissue. Conclusions: The salidroside pretreatment alleviated the focal cerebralischemia-reperfusion injury in the rat model, possibly by decreasing the permeability of blood brain barrier, attenuating brain edema and reducing TNF-alpha expression.