New approaches in education and health sciences management

New approaches in education and health sciences management

The effect of Rifampicin on cells in the CA2 and CA3 regions of the hippocampus of male Wistar rats of ischemia model

Document Type : Original Article

Authors
Behnood Avand Amini 1
Zahra Nadia Sharifi 2
Shabnam Movassaghi 2
Parivash Davoudi 3
1 Department of Anatomical Sciences & Cognitive Neuroscience, TeMS.C., Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran
2 Department of Anatomical Sciences & Cognitive Neuroscience, TeMS.C., Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran; Herbal Pharmacology Research Center, TeMS.C., Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran
3 Department of Anatomical Sciences & Cognitive Neuroscience, TeMS.C., Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran
10.22034/edus.2025.565827.1075
Abstract
Introduction: Cerebral ischemia is a major global problem. Certain areas of the brain and certain types of neurons, including hippocampal pyramidal neurons, are more sensitive to cerebral ischemia. Rifampicin is an antibiotic that has recently been considered as a neuroprotector. Studies have reported that this drug has a neurotrophic effect on neurons. In this study, the neurotrophic effect of rifampicin in the CA2 and CA3 regions of the hippocampus following cerebral ischemia/reperfusion was investigated.
Materials and Methods: Male Wistar rats were randomly divided into 4 groups of 6: control, ischemic, experimental, and vehicle. Rifampicin was injected intraperitoneally at a dose of 20 mg/kg 20 minutes after ischemia and 24 hours after reperfusion. Ischemia was induced by bilateral occlusion of the common carotid arteries for 20 minutes. Four days later, all rats were sacrificed and the CA2 and CA3 hippocampal regions were examined by Nissl staining.
Results: The results showed that induction of ischemia cannot cause the loss of neurons in the CA2 region, but ischemia was able to cause a significant decrease in the number of pyramidal cells in the CA3 region of the hippocampus. A significant difference was observed between the number of pyramidal cells in the CA3 region of the hippocampus in the ischemic and control groups, while this difference was not significant between the control and drug groups.
Conclusion: Rifampicin has a neurotrophic effect and prevents the death of neurons in the CA3 region of the hippocampus following transient global ischemia/reperfusion.
Keywords
Rifampicin
Cerebral Ischemia
Hippocampus

Ethics Approval ID: IR.IAU.TMU.REC.1397.335

 

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New approaches in education and health sciences management
Volume 2, Issue 4
January 2026
Winter 2026
Pages 55-65

  • Receive Date 02 September 2025
  • Revise Date 24 October 2025
  • Accept Date 01 December 2025
  • First Publish Date 13 December 2025
  • Publish Date 22 December 2025