Effect of Trehalose on Neurocan and Neural-Glial Antigen 2 Genes Expression in Rats with Spinal Cord Injury

Background: Chondroitin sulfate proteoglycans (CSPGs) are the major cause of axonal regeneration failure at the site of lesion in spinal cord injury (SCI). Inflammation is believed to stimulate the upregulation of CSPGs expression. Recent evidence showed that trehalose reduces the development of inflammation in SCI. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of trehalose on neurocan and Neural-Glial Antigen 2 (NG2) mRNA levels in SCI in rats. Methods: In this experimental study, male rats were divided into six groups (n=15). Sham (laminectomy), SCI (laminectomy and SCI), vehicle (laminectomy and SCI, treated with phosphate buffer saline), and T10, T100 and T1000 (laminectomy and SCI, treated with 10, 100 and 1000 mM trehalose). Five rats in each group were sacrificed at 1, 3 and 7 days post-injury to measure neurocan and NG2 mRNA levels in lesion. Statistical analysis was performed using Kruskal-Wallis methods followed by the Mann-Whitney test. Results: Findings indicated that SCI upregulated neurocan and NG2 mRNA levels at all times. No significant difference was observed in neurocan and NG2 gene transcripts between SCI and vehicle groups (p>0.05). However, 10 mM trehalose downregulated the mRNA level of both neurocan (0.76 and 0.65 fold) and NG2 (0.75 and 0.70 fold) at 3 and 7 days post-SCI compared to vehicle group (p p<0.01, respectively). Conclusion: Collectively, treatment with low dose trehalose showed a decrease in neurocan and NG2 mRNA levels in spinal cord injured rats.