PARTIAL NEUROPROTECTION BY 17-ß-ESTRADIOL IN NEONATAL GAMMAIRRADIATED RAT CEREBELLUM

(ZORRILLA ZUBILETE, MARIA A.; GUELMAN, LAURA R.; MAUR DAMIAN G; RIOS, HUGO; ZIEHER, L.M.; GENARO, ANA M

NEUROCHEMISTRY INTERNATIONAL

PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD

Año: 2010 p. 273 - 280

0197-0186

Acute and long-term complications can occur in patients receiving radiation therapy. It hasbeen suggested that cytoprotection might decrease the incidence and severity of therapyrelatedtoxicity in these patients. Developing cerebellum is highly radiosensitive and for thatreason it is a useful structure to test potential neuroprotective substances to prevent radiationinduced abnormalities.Nitric Oxide has an important role in the control of the neuronal activity and PKC is one of thevital enzymes required for the normal neuronal development. This enzyme could be thetarget of ionizing radiation.Recent studies have shown that estrogen can rapidly modulate intracellular signalingpathways involved in cell survival. Recently, it was demonstrated that estrogens mediateneuroprotection by promoting growth, cell survival and by preventing axonal pruning.The aim of this work was to evaluate the effect of the treatment with 17-β-estradiol on themotor, structural and biochemical changes induced by neonatal ionizing radiation exposure.Our results indicate that perinatal chronic 17-β-estradiol treatment partially protects againstradiation-induced cerebellar disorganization and motor abnormalities. PKC and NOSactivities could be implicated in its neuroprotective mechanism. These data provide a newunderstanding into the mechanisms underlying estrogen neuroprotection, which is oftherapeutic relevance in patients under radiotherapy.