Progesterone is an efficient candidate for treating stroke and traumatic brain damage. The current study was designed to investigate the effects of pro gesterone on glucose transporter proteins （GLUT1 and GLUT3） during hypoxicischemic injury in a neo natal rat model. We demonstrated strong staining for GLUT1 in the walls of blood vessels and GLUT3 im munoreactivity in hippocampal neurons after hypoxia ischemia. Hypoxiaischemia elevated GLUT1 and GLUT3 at both the mRNA and protein levels in the hippocampus, and pretreatment with progesterone （8 mg/kg） further enhanced their accumulation until 24 h after hypoxicischemic injury. These results showed that progesterone treatment induced the accumula tion of both GLUT1 and GLUT3 transporters, and an energycompensation mechanism may be involved in the neuroprotective effect of progesterone during hy poxicischemic injury after cerebral ischemic attacks.
Xinjuan LiHua HanRuanling HouLinyu WeiGuohong WangChaokun LiDongliang Li
