Clobetasol Attenuates White Matter Injury by Promoting Oligodendrocyte Precursor Cell Differentiation

Introduction: White matter injury (WMI) is the most common brain injury in preterm infants and can result in life-long neurological deficits. The main cause of WMI is damage to the oligodendrocyte precursor cells (OPC) in the brain that results in delayed myelin sheath formation, or the destruction of existing myelin sheaths. OPC undergo highly regulated and strictly timed developmental changes that result in their transformation to mature oligodendrocytes capable of myelin production. Objective: Studies have shown that clobetasol strongly promotes differentiation of OPC into myelin sheaths. Therefore, we hypothesized that clobetasol may be a therapeutic option for the treatment of preterm WMI. Methods: We induced a WMI rat model and observed white matter damage under an optical microscope. Rats subjected to WMI were injected intraperitoneally with clobetasol (2 or 5 mg/kg daily) from day 1 to day 5 in the early treatment groups, or from day 6 to day 10 in the late treatment groups. After 17 days, the rats were sacrificed and the expression of myelin basic protein (MBP) was visualized using immunofluorescence. In addition, we evaluated myelin sheath formation using electron microscopy. The rats were also subjected to the suspension test, ramp test, and open field test to evaluate neurobehavioral functions. Results: A rat model of WMI was successfully induced. It was found that clobetasol significantly induced MBP expression and myelin sheath formation and improved neurobehavioral function in the rats subjected to WMI. Conclusions: Our results indicate that clobetasol attenuates WMI by promoting OPC differentiation, and it may be an effective therapeutic agent for the treatment of preterm WMI.