PARTIAL NEUROPROTECTION BY 17-ß-ESTRADIOL IN NEONATAL GAMMA-IRRADIATED RAT CEREBELLUM

ZORRILLA ZUBILETE MA; GUELMAN LR; MAUR DG; CACERES LG; RIOS H; ZIEHER LM; GENARO AM

NEUROCHEMISTRY INTERNATIONAL

PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD

Lugar: Amsterdam; Año: 2011 vol. 58 p. 273 - 280

0197-0186

Acute and long-term complications can occur in patients receiving radiation therapy. It has beensuggested that cytoprotection might decrease the incidence and severity of therapy-related toxicity inthese patients. Developing cerebellum is highly radiosensitive and for that reason it is a useful structureto test potential neuroprotective substances to prevent radiation induced abnormalities.Recent studies have shown that estrogen can rapidly modulate intracellular signalling pathwaysinvolved in cell survival. Thus, it has been demonstrated that estrogens mediate neuroprotection bypromoting growth, cell survival and by preventing axonal pruning.The aim of this work was to evaluate the effect of the treatment with 17-b-estradiol on the motor,structural and biochemical changes induced by neonatal ionizing radiation exposure, and to investigatethe participation of nitric oxide and protein kinase C, two important intracellularmessengers involved inneuronal activity. Our results show that perinatal chronic 17-b-estradiol treatment partially protectsagainst radiation-induced cerebellar disorganization and motor abnormalities. PKC and NOS activitiescould be implicated in its neuroprotective mechanisms. These data provide new evidence about themechanisms underlying estrogen neuroprotection, which could have therapeutic relevance for patientstreated with radiotherapy.