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Sánchez-Torres S, Orozco-Barrios C, Salgado-Ceballos H, Segura-Uribe JJ, Guerra-Araiza C, León-Cholula Á, Morán J, Coyoy-Salgado A. Tibolone Improves Locomotor Function in a Rat Model of Spinal Cord Injury by Modulating Apoptosis and Autophagy. Int J Mol Sci 2023; 24:15285. [PMID: 37894971 PMCID: PMC10607734 DOI: 10.3390/ijms242015285] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/29/2023] [Revised: 10/10/2023] [Accepted: 10/11/2023] [Indexed: 10/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Spinal cord injury (SCI) harms patients' health and social and economic well-being. Unfortunately, fully effective therapeutic strategies have yet to be developed to treat this disease, affecting millions worldwide. Apoptosis and autophagy are critical cell death signaling pathways after SCI that should be targeted for early therapeutic interventions to mitigate their adverse effects and promote functional recovery. Tibolone (TIB) is a selective tissue estrogen activity regulator (STEAR) with neuroprotective properties demonstrated in some experimental models. This study aimed to investigate the effect of TIB on apoptotic cell death and autophagy after SCI and verify whether TIB promotes motor function recovery. A moderate contusion SCI was produced at thoracic level 9 (T9) in male Sprague Dawley rats. Subsequently, animals received a daily dose of TIB orally and were sacrificed at 1, 3, 14 or 30 days post-injury. Tissue samples were collected for morphometric and immunofluorescence analysis to identify tissue damage and the percentage of neurons at the injury site. Autophagic (Beclin-1, LC3-I/LC3-II, p62) and apoptotic (Caspase 3) markers were also analyzed via Western blot. Finally, motor function was assessed using the BBB scale. TIB administration significantly increased the amount of preserved tissue (p < 0.05), improved the recovery of motor function (p < 0.001) and modulated the expression of autophagy markers in a time-dependent manner while consistently inhibiting apoptosis (p < 0.05). Therefore, TIB could be a therapeutic alternative for the recovery of motor function after SCI.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stephanie Sánchez-Torres
- Unidad de Investigación Médica en Enfermedades Neurológicas, Hospital de Especialidades, Centro Médico Nacional Siglo XXI, Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social, Mexico City 06720, Mexico; (S.S.-T.); (H.S.-C.); (Á.L.-C.)
- Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología, Mexico City 03940, Mexico
| | - Carlos Orozco-Barrios
- CONACyT-Unidad de Investigación Médica en Enfermedades Neurológicas, Hospital de Especialidades, Centro Médico Nacional Siglo XXI, Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social, Mexico City 06720, Mexico;
| | - Hermelinda Salgado-Ceballos
- Unidad de Investigación Médica en Enfermedades Neurológicas, Hospital de Especialidades, Centro Médico Nacional Siglo XXI, Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social, Mexico City 06720, Mexico; (S.S.-T.); (H.S.-C.); (Á.L.-C.)
| | - Julia J. Segura-Uribe
- Subdirección de Gestión de la Investigación, Hospital Infantil de México Federico Gómez, Secretaría de Salud, Mexico City 04530, Mexico;
| | - Christian Guerra-Araiza
- Unidad de Investigación Médica en Farmacología, Hospital de Especialidades, Centro Médico Nacional Siglo XXI, Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social, Mexico City 06720, Mexico;
| | - Ángel León-Cholula
- Unidad de Investigación Médica en Enfermedades Neurológicas, Hospital de Especialidades, Centro Médico Nacional Siglo XXI, Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social, Mexico City 06720, Mexico; (S.S.-T.); (H.S.-C.); (Á.L.-C.)
| | - Julio Morán
- División de Neurociencias, Instituto de Fisiología Celular, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City 04510, Mexico;
| | - Angélica Coyoy-Salgado
- CONACyT-Unidad de Investigación Médica en Enfermedades Neurológicas, Hospital de Especialidades, Centro Médico Nacional Siglo XXI, Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social, Mexico City 06720, Mexico;
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