To explore the protective effect of rotundine injection on lung, liver and kidney damages after cerebral ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury in rats based on the activity changes of nitric oxide synthase (NOS).
Seventy-six rats were randomly divided into three groups: sham operation group, I/R injury group and treatment group, and determinations were done at five different time points. The cerebral I/R models were reproduced by improved 4 vessels occlusion method. The activities of NOS in the lung, liver and kidney were measured in all the rats at 2, 6, 12, 24 and 48 hours after reperfusion.
Compared with sham operation group, the activities of total NOS (tNOS) were significantly increased at 2, 12 and 24 hours in I/R injury group (P<0.05 or P<0.01), with the peak value at 12 hours (all P<0.01). The activities of constitutive NOS (cNOS) were increased significantly at 2 hours (all P<0.05), and those of induced NOS (iNOS) were increased at 12 hours (all P<0.01). The activities of iNOS were still high at 24 hours (all P<0.05), and approached the levels of sham operation group at 48 hours. Compared with I/R injury group, the activities of cNOS in various organs increased much higher at 2 hours in treatment group (all P<0.05). But those of iNOS were significantly decreased after 12 hours (P<0.05 or P<0.01).
The various types of NOS play different roles in the lung damages after brain I/R injury at different stages in rats. Rotundine injection can ameliorate the damages by modulating the activities of different types of NOS.