OBJECTIVETo investigate the effect of the iron chelator deferoxamine (DFA) in suppressing microglia activation and protecting against secondary neural injury in a rat model of intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH).

METHODSSD rats were randomly divided into sham-operated group, ICH group and DFA treatment group. ICH model was established by infusion of type IV collagenase into the right basal ganglia, and starting from 1 h after the operation, the rats received intraperitoneal DFA injections every 12 h for 7 days. The iron content in the perihematoma brain tissue was determined at different time points after DFA administration, and OX42 immunohistochemistry was used to observe the changes in the microglia. The contents of interleukin-1β (IL-1β) and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) in the brain tissue were detected by ELISA. The neural death and neurological deficiency were measured using Nissl staining and neurological scores, respectively.

RESULTSThe iron content in the brain tissues around the hematoma was significantly increased 3 days after ICH and maintained a high level till 28 days, accompanied by a marked increase of microglial cells as compared to the sham-operated group. DFA injection caused significantly decreased iron content in the brain tissue, reduced number of microglial cells, and lowered levels of IL-1β and TNF-α. Neuronal loss around the hematoma was obviously reversed after DFA injections, which resulted in improved neurological deficiency.

CONCLUSIONDFA can suppress microglia activation by removing iron overload from the perihematoma brain tissue, thus reducing secondary neuronal death and neurological deficiency in rats with ICH.