Ephedrine attenuates cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury in rats through NF-κB signaling pathway

The inflammation and immune responses are critical in ischemic stroke and contribute to aggravated brain damage. Ephedrine was reported to play an important role in the control of inflammatory responses. This study was to investigate the repairing effects and potential mechanisms of ephedrine on cerebral ischemic injury in a rat model of focal cerebral ischemia. The rat model of cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury was established using the middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) method and then rats were treated with ephedrine (5 and 10 mg/kg) for 7 days. The neurobehavioral progression was assessed using the neurological scoring method. The pathology of brain tissue was evaluated by hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) staining. The infarct volume was examined by triphenyltetrazolium chloride (TTC) staining. The apoptosis in ischemic brain tissues was detected by terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick end labeling (TUNEL) assay. Inflammatory factors were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Gene quantification and protein expression were detected by real-time PCR and western blot, respectively. Ephedrine treatment significantly alleviated the cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury, evidenced by decreased neurological deficit score, infarct volume and water content. Ephedrine also decreased autophagy and apoptosis in brain tissues. Moreover, ephedrine treatment significantly reduced inflammatory responses, associating with decreasing the protein expression of p-NF-κB. These results demonstrated neuroprotective properties of ephedrine and highlighted it as a new potential anti-inflammatory agent against injury of cerebral ischemia/reperfusion.