Introduction

1. Progesterone Modulates the Phosphorylation of Akt in a Closed Skull Traumatic Brain Injury Model Justin Garling, MSII, Lora Watts, PhD, Shane Sprague, BS, David F. Jimenez, MD, FACS, Murat Digicaylioglu, MD, PhD The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio Introduction Results Progesterone Treated Astrocyte Culture(Dose response curves) • Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) affects nearly 1.7 million people in the United States each year, but not all head injuries result in TBI.2 • There are currently no FDA approved drugs on the market to treat TBI • Progesterone is a hydrophobic steroid hormone that has been shown in recent studies to exhibit neuroprotective effects. • This study aims to determine if progesterone is involved in the regulation of Akt via the Serine 473 and Threonine 308 phosphorylation sites. Progesterone concentrations: 1μM 20μM C 1nM V 10nM 20nM 40nM 100nM P-Akt (T308) P-Akt (S473) Total Akt Actin Progesterone treated 72hr TBI Mice TBI w/P4 TBI w/P4 Sham w/P4 Sham w/V Ctx H Ctx H Ctx H H Ctx P-Akt (T308) Total Akt Figure 1: The progesterone treated astrocyte cultures were incubated for 30min. The vehicle (V) used in all experiments was 2-hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin. The right cortex (Ctx) and hippocampus (H) were isolated in the progesterone treated 72hr TBI mice Hippocampus of TBI mice Expression of Progesterone Receptor Sham 72hr TBI 24hr TBI DAPI GFAP PGR Merged 100X 40X 20X Merged DAPI PGR Figure 2: Progesterone receptor in Astrocyte culture and mouse cortex. DAPI=blue, nuclei. PGR (progesterone receptor)= green. GFAP (Glial Fibrillary Acidic Protein)= red, and is a structural protein of astrocytes. Figure 3: Nissl Staining. Nissl stains rough endoplasmic reticulum. All Nissl stainings show the hippocampus of the impacted side of C57Black/6 mice. None of the mice shown were treated with progesterone. Conclusions • Progesterone (100 nM) treated astrocyte culture: • Increased phosphorylation of Akt at Thr308 • Decreased phosphorylation of Akt at Ser473 • Small decrease in total Akt • TBI mice treated with Progesterone: • Significantly increased phosphorylation of Akt at Thr308 site in the hippocampus compared to sham (72 hours post-TBI) • Significance of Researching Progesterone: • To identify the active groups on the progesterone molecule. • Progesterone is a large molecule with solubility and blood brain barrier penetration problems. • To find a progesterone mimetic Progesterone P S473 Akt P T308 Growth Apoptosis Edema Inflammation Cell Viability Future Directions Methods Mouse Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) model: A 5mm disc is placed over the right side of the exposed skull between the bregma and lambda sutures. Mice were impacted using a pneumatic impactor which fires at a rate of 4.5m/s striking the disc depressing the skull 2mm. • Time-response curves at the progesterone concentrations which produced the most significant changes in the dose-response curves (100nM) • Oxygen Glucose Deprivation (OGD) in astrocyte and cortical neuron cultures • P-mTOR pathway relation to progesterone and Akt • Intranasal progesterone treatment Progesterone Treatment: Mice were treated with progesterone by injection post-TBI at 1hr (i.p.), 6hr (s.c.), 24hr (s.c.), 48hr (s.c.), and then sacrificed at 72hrs. (Note: i.p.=intraperitoneal s.c.= subcutaneous) References Progesterone Brinton, R., Thompson, R. & Foy, M. Progesterone Receptors: Form and Function in Brain. Neuroendocrinology 29, 313-339 (2008). Control, C.f.D. CDC - Injury - Traumatic Brain Injury(Atlanta, 2010). Cutler, S., Cekic, M., Miller, D. & Stein, D. Progesterone Improves Acute Recovery after Traumatic Brain Injury in the Aged Rat. Journal of Neurotrauma, 1475-1486 (2007). CW, G., SW, H. & DG, S. Behavioral effects and anatomic correlates after brain injury: a progesterone dose-response study. Pharmacology, Biochemistry, and Behavior, 231-242 (2003). Wright, D., Bauer, M., Hoffman, S. & Stein, D. Serum Progesterone Levels Correlate with Decreased Cerebral Edema after Traumatic Brain Injury in Male Rats. Journal of Neurotrauma 18 (2001). This work was supported by the Department of Neurosurgery