Carelli Stephana, Marfia Giovanni, Di Giulio Anna Maria, Ghilardi Giorgio, Gorio Alfredo
Laboratory of Pharmacology, Department of Medicine, Surgery and Dentistry, University of Milan, Polo H. San Paolo, Via A. di Rudinì 8, 20142 Milan, Italy.
Neurol Res Int. 2011;2011:453179. doi: 10.1155/2011/453179. Epub 2011 Jul 4.
Erythropoietin (EPO), originally identified for its critical function in regulating production and survival of erythrocytes, is a member of the type 1 cytokine superfamily. Recent studies have shown that EPO has cytoprotective effects in a wide variety of cells and tissues. Here is presented the analysis of EPO effects on spinal cord injury (SCI), considering both animal experiments concerning to mechanisms of neurodegeneration in SCI and EPO as a neuroprotective agent, and some evidences coming from ongoing clinical trials. The evidences underling that EPO could be a promising therapeutic agent in a variety of neurological insults, including trauma, are mounting. In particular, it is highlighted that administration of EPO or other recently generated EPO analogues such as asialo-EPO and carbamylated-EPO demonstrate interesting preclinical and clinical characteristics, rendering the evaluation of these tissue-protective agents imperative in human clinical trials. Moreover the demonstration of rhEPO and its analogues' broad neuroprotective effects in animal models of cord lesion and in human trial like stroke, should encourage scientists and clinicians to design clinical trials assessing the efficacy of these pharmacological compounds on SCI.
促红细胞生成素（EPO）最初因其在调节红细胞生成和存活中的关键作用而被发现，是1型细胞因子超家族的成员。最近的研究表明，EPO在多种细胞和组织中具有细胞保护作用。本文介绍了EPO对脊髓损伤（SCI）影响的分析，既考虑了关于SCI神经退行性变机制的动物实验以及EPO作为神经保护剂的作用，也考虑了来自正在进行的临床试验的一些证据。越来越多的证据表明，EPO可能是包括创伤在内的多种神经损伤中有前景的治疗药物。特别需要强调的是，给予EPO或其他最近研发的EPO类似物，如去唾液酸EPO和氨甲酰化EPO，显示出有趣的临床前和临床特征，使得在人体临床试验中评估这些组织保护剂变得势在必行。此外，重组人促红细胞生成素（rhEPO）及其类似物在脊髓损伤动物模型和中风等人体试验中的广泛神经保护作用的证明，应该鼓励科学家和临床医生设计临床试验，评估这些药物化合物对SCI的疗效。
