Abstract: Objective To observe the protective effect of erythropoietin (EPO) on anoxia of motoneurons after spinal cord injury in rats.Methods The motoneuron was dissociated from neonate Wistar rats and cultivated in vitro with deprivation of oxygen in the medium. The changes of morphology were observed by phase-contrast microscopy, and the expression of EPO receptor (EPOR) was detected with Western blotting. The survival rate of motoneuron was measured with methyl thiazolyl tetrazolium (MTT) assay, and the level of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) was observed. Results Compared with the control group, the expression of EPOR and the level of LDH increased (P<0.01),and the survival rate of motoneuron decreased (P<0.01) in the anoxia group. Compared with the anoxia group, the expression of EPOR and the level of LDH decreased (P<0.05), and the survival rate of motoneuron increased (P<0.01) in the EPO group, which was related with the level of EPO. Conclusion EPO could relieve the damage of motoneuron caused by anoxia, especially by upregulating EPOR.

Key words: spinal cord injury, motoneuron, anoxia, erythropoietin, rats