The Effect Of Dexamethasone On Glucose Metabolism Following Unilateral Hypoxia-ischemia In Rat Brain

ObjectiveWe designed this experiment to investigate the influence of dexamethasone (DEX) on expression of glucose transporter 1(GLUT1) in hypoxic-ischemic rat brain, to research whether the expression will change with different dosages of DEX at different time spots.Methods And Materials7-day old SD rats were divided into 5 groups: (1)control group(C), in which the rats were given false operation;(2)hypoxic-ischemic group(HI), vehicle were given i.p. for 3 days; (3) low dosage treatment of Dexamethasone group(LD),0.1mg/kg i.p. for 3 days following hypoxia-ischemia;(4)moderate dosage treatment of Dexamethasone group, 0.5mg/kg i.p. for 3 days following hypoxia-ischemia; (5) high dosage treatment of Dexamethasone group, 1mg/kg i.p. for 3 days following hypoxia-ischemia. The pups were perfused at specific intervals of recovery from hypoxia-ischemia. Immunohistochemical analysis of GLUT1 was adopted.ResultsThe GLUT1 signals in HI group are significantly higher than that in Control group(P<0.05), and different in recovery intervals. The signals in LD groups are higher than HI group but not significant(p>0.05). The GLUT1 signals in MD group are significantly higher than HI group's (p< 0.05). The signals in HD group are higher at early stage(p<0.05) but drop to a lower level than HI group(p<0.05).ConclusionThe GLUT1 protein level significantly increased after hypoxic-ischemic insult of neonatal rat brain . And the Dexamethasone treatment promoted the expression of glucose transporter 1 protein after the hypoxic-ischemic insult of neonatal rat brain at early stage. A proper dosage of Dexamethasone treatment at early stage may protect the brain.