Abstract:

Hypoxic ischemic (HI) injury in neonates damages brain tissues. We examined the mechanism of hyperbaric oxygen preconditioning (HBO-PC) in neonatal HI rat model. Seven-day-old rat pups were subjected to left common carotid artery ligation and hypoxia (8% oxygen at 37 degrees C) for 90 min. HBO (100% O(2), 2.5 atmospheres absolute for 2.5 h) were administered by placing pups in a chamber 24 h before HI insult. Brain injury was assessed by the survival rate, 2,3,5-triphenyltetrazolium chloride (TTC), Nissl, TUNEL straining and caspase-3,caspase-9 activities after HI. In HBO preconditioned animals, survival rate was increased, infarct ratio was decreased, and the positive stained TUNEL cells were reduced, accompanied by the suppression of caspase-3 and -9 activities. These results indicate that a single HBO-PC appears to provide brain protection against HI insult via inhibition of neuronal apoptosis pathways.

Li, Liu, Kang, Lv, Han, Yun, Sun, Zhang, (2008). Mechanism of hyperbaric oxygen preconditioning in neonatal hypoxia-ischemia rat model. Brain research, 2008 Feb;1196():151-6. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18221732