LE3 .A278 2011

2011

Wilson, Brian

Acadia University

Bachelor of Science

Honours

Biology

Biology

Relaxin is a peptide hormone within the insulin superfamily. It exists in 3 different forms in humans: H1, H2, and H3 relaxins, with H2 being the main circulating form. Relaxin has been shown to ameliorate damage induced by ischemia-reperfusion in myocardial tissue through a variety of mechanisms. More recently, the hormone has been shown to reduce ischemia-reperfusion-induced cerebral tissue damage, though the mechanisms behind this effect are unknown. Hypoxia-inducible factor 1-alpha (HIF-1α) is a transcription factor subunit that mediates oxygen homeostasis at the cellular level and has been shown to play both adaptive and detrimental roles during ischemia. In this study, an organotypic brain slice culture technique was used to determine whether relaxin affects the concentration of HIF-1α. Coronal brain sections (400 μm) from neonatal Sprague-Dawley rats (n=15) were cultured for 14 days. The cultured tissue was divided into 3 treatment groups: Normoxic (n=5), Hypoxic (n=5), and Hypoxic with Relaxin (n=5). Oxygen and glucose deprivation was induced for 60 minutes in the latter two groups while oxygen and glucose supply to slices was maintained for the Normoxic group. Brain slices were homogenized post-treatment and HIF-1α concentrations were determined for each treatment using an Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA). Results suggest that HIF-1α concentration does not vary significantly between hypoxic tissue treated with relaxin compared with hypoxic and normoxic controls.

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https://scholar.acadiau.ca/islandora/object/theses:787