Effect of MgSO4 on expression of NSE and S-100 in rats brain tissue irradiated by 6 MeV electron beam

Objective: To explore the protection of magnesium sulfate (MgSO4) on radiation-induced acute brain injuries. Methods: Thirty six mature Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into 3 groups: blank control group, experimental control group and experimental administered group. The whole brain of SD rats of experimental control group and experimental-therapeutic group were irradiated with a dose of 20 Gy using 6 MeV electron beam. Magnesium sulfate was injected intraperitoneally into the rats of experimental-therapeutic group before and after irradiation for five times. The brain tissue were taken on days 1, 7, 14 and 30 after irradiation. Immunohistochemical method was used to detect the expressions of NSE and S-100 in brain tissue. All data were processed statistically with One-ANOVA analysis. Results: The expressions of NSE and S-100 after whole brain irradiation were time-dependent. Compared with blank control group, the expression of NSE in brains of experimental control group decreased significantly (P<0.05), while the expression of S-100 increased markedly (P<0.05). Compared with that of the experimental control group, the NSE expression in brains of experimental administered group were enhanced since 7 days after irradiation, while the S-100 expression in brains significantly lower than that of experimental control group (P<0.05). Conclusions: The changes of S-100 and NSE expression on the brain could act as the indexes of acute brain injury induced by radiation. MgSO4 can inhibit the expression of S-100, but induce the expression of NSE on radiation-induced acute brain injury. MgSO4 has a protective effect on radiation-induced acute brain injury. (authors)