Abstract

The present study investigated the protective effects of calpeptin on rat hippocampal slices exposed to oxygen and glucose deprivation (OGD). Forty SD rat hippocampal slices were randomly assigned into control group and calpeptin group. According to the calpeptin concentration of artificial cerebrospinal fluid, the calpeptin group was subdivided into 1, 10, 100 and 200 μmol/ l group (n = 8 per group). Extracellular recording technique was employed to determine the effects of calpeptin on the orthodromic population spikes (OPS) and hypoxic injury potential (HIP) of hippocampal slices exposed to OGD. TUNEL staining was conducted to detect the apoptosis of pyramidal cells with or without calpeptin treatment. In the 10, 100 and 200 μmol/l group, the presence of HIP and the number of apoptotic cells were markedly increased, and the rate and amplitude of OPS recovery were significantly elevated when compared with control group. However, there were no remarkable differences in these parameters between 10, 100 and 200 μmol/l group. Our results showed calpeptin of 10 to 200 μmol/l could dramatically improve the injury of OGD to rat hippocampal slices in which decreased apoptosis of neurons in the CA1 region by calpeptin played an important role.

Key words: Calpain, oxygen and glucose deprivation, hippocampal slice, orthodromic population spike, hypoxic injury potential.