Sufentanil protects against blood-brain barrier injury in rat with intracerebral hemorrhage

Abstract

Disruption of blood-brain barrier is a common brain injury in intracerebral hemorrhage. Sufentanil is an analogue of fentanyl, and acts as an opioid analgesic in postsurgical analgesia and anaesthesia. Sufentanil also exerted a neuroprotective effect against cerebral infarction. The role of sufentanil in intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH)-induced blood-brain barrier injury was investigated. Firstly a rat model of intracerebral hemorrhage was established by local injection of collagenase IV into striatum. Rats were then subjected to tail vein injection with sufentanil. Results showed that injection with collagenase IV induced histological damages in brain tissues, increased brain water content and enhanced Evans blue leakage. However, administration with sufentanil attenuated behavioral deficits and histological damages in the brain tissues of rats with intracerebral hemorrhage. Moreover, sufentanil also reduced brain water content and inhibited Evans blue leakage. Sufentanil attenuated collagenase IV-induced increased levels of tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α), interleukin (IL)-6, and IL-1β in rats with intracerebral hemorrhage. Sufentanil suppressed phosphorylation of c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) and P38 in brain tissues of rats with intracerebral hemorrhage. In conclusion, sufentanil exhibited neuroprotective effects on blood-brain barrier injury in rat with intracerebral hemorrhage, and inhibited neuroinflammation through the inactivation of mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling.