Effect of tibolone on IL-1β and TNF-α expression in ovariectomized rats after cerebral ischemia-reperfusion

Objective To study the effect of tibolone on expression of IL-1β and TNF-α in ovariectomized rats during cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury. Methods Thirty healthy adult female Sprague Dawley rats were selected and randomly divided into sham-operated group,ovariectomized group,tibolone group 2.5mg/（d·kg）.A brain ischemia model was induced by left middle cerebral artery occlusion for 2 hours.All animals were killed 24 hours after reperfusion.Cerebral infarction volume was meausred with 2,3,5 triphenyltetrazlium chloride（TTC）staining and image analysis.The expression of interleukin-1β（IL-1β）and tumor necrosis factor-α（TNF-α）was detected by immunohistochemistry.Changes in tissue pathology were also investigated. Results The cerebral infarction volume was significantly lower in tibolone group than in ovariectomized group（P＜0.05）.The expression of IL-1β and TNF-α was obviously lower in tibolone group than in ovariectomized group（P＜0.01）. Conclusion Tibolone decreases the expression of IL-1β and TNF-α,thus protecting brain tissue against cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury.