Tropical Journal of Pharmaceutical Research

Original Research Article | OPEN ACCESS

Bethanechol versus selegiline in amelioration of spinal cord injury in a rat model: A potential therapeutic option in spinal cord injury treatment

Guangliang Fan¹, Jinli Luan¹, Xiankuo Tang², Qimin Song³

¹Department of Neurosurgery, Longkou Nanshan Health Valley Cancer Hospital, Longkou City, Shandong Province 265700; ²Department of Neurosurgery, Dongping County People's Hospital, Tai'an City, Dongping County 271500; ³Department of Neurosurgery, Linyi People's Hospital, Linyi, Shandong Province 276003, China.

For correspondence:- Qimin Song Email: sarahglennnde@yahoo.com Tel:+865398312972

Accepted: 19 December 2019 Published: 31 January 2020

Citation: Fan G, Luan J, Tang X, Song Q. Bethanechol versus selegiline in amelioration of spinal cord injury in a rat model: A potential therapeutic option in spinal cord injury treatment. Trop J Pharm Res 2020; 19(1):83-87 doi: 10.4314/tjpr.v19i1.13

© 2020 The authors.
This is an Open Access article that uses a funding model which does not charge readers or their institutions for access and distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0) and the Budapest Open Access Initiative (http://www.budapestopenaccessinitiative.org/read), which permit unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly credited..

Abstract

Purpose: To compare the effect of bethanechol versus selegiline in ameliorating spinal cord injury (SCI) in a rat model.

Methods: Male adult Wistar rats (200 – 250 g) were equally divided into 3 groups: test (SCI rats treated with bethanechol), and control reference (SCI rats treated with selegiline) and control (SCI rats treated with vehicle). SCI was induced in the rats using the clipping method. Thereafter, motor function was assessed in the rats using a rotarod. Each rat was sacrificed by decapitation, and the cortex was excised for use in the study of the involvement of cholinergic and monoaminergic transmission in SCI rats using real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction and western blot analysis.

Results: Retention time was numerically greater in rats treated with acetyl choline agonist at all rotations (10, 15 and 25 rpm) when compared to MAO A inhibitor group, but the difference was not statistically significant (p > 0.05). Both bethanechol and selegiline improved motor function by increasing cholinergic and monoaminergic transmission. Both drugs (bethanechol and selegiline) were effective in ameliorating the motor function deficit caused by spinal cord injury. A significant upregulation in acetylcholine esterase (AChE) was observed in the cortex of the SCI rats, relative to non-SCI rats (p < 0.005). Results from cholinergic receptor binding studies revealed significantly decreased Bmax and kd values for muscarinic receptors in SCI rats, when compared to non-SCI rats. Moreover, the reduction in the intensity of cholinergic receptors was significantly higher in the cerebral cortex of SCI rats than in non-SCI rats.

Conclusion: Bethanechol and selegiline are effective in ameliorating motor function deficit caused by spinal cord injury in rats. Both drugs also improve motor function in SCI rats. Therefore, the drugs have potentials for use in the therapeutical management of spinal cord injury.

Keywords: Spinal cord injury, Bethanechol, Selegiline, Motor functions, Monoaminergic transmission, Cholinergic transmission