The effects of urapidil as an alpha receptor blocker on spinal cord ischemia-reperfusion injury in male rats.
4 affiliations
- 1Cardiovascular Surgery Department, Health Ministry, Ankara Education and Training Hospital, Hacettepe Mah. Ulucanlar Cad. No:89, Altındağ-Ankara, Turkey. [email protected].
- 2Department of Surgery, Afyon Kocatepe University, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, A.N.S Campus, Afyonkarahisar, 03200, Turkey.
- 3Department of Physiology, Muğla Sıtkı Koçman University, Milas Veterinary Faculty, Muğla, Turkey.
- 4Cardiovascular Surgery Department, Health Ministry, Ankara Education and Training Hospital, Hacettepe Mah. Ulucanlar Cad. No:89, Altındağ-Ankara, Turkey.
Abstract
Objectives
The present experimental study was designed to evaluate the potential neuroprotective effects of urapidil during the acute phase (24 hours) of spinal cord ischemia-reperfusion injury in a rat model, with a focus on early functional, biochemical, histopathological, and immunohistochemical changes.Methods
Rats were randomly assigned to four experimental groups (n = 6 per group): Control (CR), Sham (SH), Ischemia-Reperfusion (IR), and Ischemia-Reperfusion + Urapidil (IR+URA). Spinal cord ischemia was induced by infrarenal abdominal aortic clamping for 30 minutes followed by reperfusion. Urapidil was administered before ischemia and after reperfusion in the IR+URA group. Motor function was evaluated 24 hours after reperfusion using the Tarlov scoring system, and biochemical, histopathological, and immunohistochemical analyses were performed. Data were analyzed using one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) followed by Duncan's multiple comparison test, which was selected due to its greater sensitivity in exploratory studies with small sample sizes. A p-value [Formula: see text] was considered statistically significant.Results
Motor function was significantly impaired in the IR group compared with all other groups, whereas the IR+URA group demonstrated preserved motor performance comparable to the CR and SH groups. Urapidil administration significantly increased antioxidant activity, as reflected by elevated glutathione peroxidase levels, and reduced inflammatory markers including TNF-α and IL-1β. Histopathological and immunohistochemical findings showed marked neuronal degeneration, apoptosis, oxidative stress, and inflammation in the IR group, which were notably attenuated by URA treatment.Conclusion
In this experimental spinal cord ischemia-reperfusion model, urapidil treatment was associated with improved early motor performance, increased glutathione peroxidase (GPx) activity, and reduced levels of the pro-inflammatory cytokines TNF-α and IL-1β during the acute reperfusion period. These changes occurred alongside favorable histopathological findings; however, given the short follow-up duration and the limited scope of apoptotic assessment, the results should be considered preliminary and interpreted as hypothesis-generating.
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BibTeX
@article{keskin2026effects,
title = {{The effects of urapidil as an alpha receptor blocker on spinal cord ischemia-reperfusion injury in male rats.}},
author = {Hasan Attila Keskin and Zülfükar Kadir Saritaş and Fatma Görücü Özbek and Aziz Bülbül and Yusuf Koç and Beyza Gül Erdoğan and Zeynep Danaci and Başak Demireller and Salih Fehmi Katircioglu},
journal = {BMC neuroscience},
year = {2026},
month = aug,
doi = {10.1186/s12868-026-01032-3},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42958030},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - The effects of urapidil as an alpha receptor blocker on spinal cord ischemia-reperfusion injury in male rats.
AU - Hasan Attila Keskin
AU - Zülfükar Kadir Saritaş
AU - Fatma Görücü Özbek
AU - Aziz Bülbül
AU - Yusuf Koç
AU - Beyza Gül Erdoğan
AU - Zeynep Danaci
AU - Başak Demireller
AU - Salih Fehmi Katircioglu
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/08/01
JO - BMC neuroscience
DO - 10.1186/s12868-026-01032-3
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42958030
AB - Objectives The present experimental study was designed to evaluate the potential neuroprotective effects of urapidil during the acute phase (24 hours) of spinal cord ischemia-reperfusion injury in a rat model, with a focus on early functional, biochemical, histopathological, and immunohistochemical changes.Methods Rats were randomly assigned to four experimental groups (n = 6 per group): Control (CR), Sham (SH), Ischemia-Reperfusion (IR), and Ischemia-Reperfusion + Urapidil (IR+URA). Spinal cord ischemia was induced by infrarenal abdominal aortic clamping for 30 minutes followed by reperfusion. Urapidil was administered before ischemia and after reperfusion in the IR+URA group. Motor function was evaluated 24 hours after reperfusion using the Tarlov scoring system, and biochemical, histopathological, and immunohistochemical analyses were performed. Data were analyzed using one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) followed by Duncan's multiple comparison test, which was selected due to its greater sensitivity in exploratory studies with small sample sizes. A p-value [Formula: see text] was considered statistically significant.Results Motor function was significantly impaired in the IR group compared with all other groups, whereas the IR+URA group demonstrated preserved motor performance comparable to the CR and SH groups. Urapidil administration significantly increased antioxidant activity, as reflected by elevated glutathione peroxidase levels, and reduced inflammatory markers including TNF-α and IL-1β. Histopathological and immunohistochemical findings showed marked neuronal degeneration, apoptosis, oxidative stress, and inflammation in the IR group, which were notably attenuated by URA treatment.Conclusion In this experimental spinal cord ischemia-reperfusion model, urapidil treatment was associated with improved early motor performance, increased glutathione peroxidase (GPx) activity, and reduced levels of the pro-inflammatory cytokines TNF-α and IL-1β during the acute reperfusion period. These changes occurred alongside favorable histopathological findings; however, given the short follow-up duration and the limited scope of apoptotic assessment, the results should be considered preliminary and interpreted as hypothesis-generating.
SN - 1471-2202
ER -