Objective: Increasing evidence implicates endothelin (ET)-1 in the pathophysiological development of cerebral vasospasm. This study examined the ability of TBC 11251 (TBC), a new ETA receptor antagonist, to prevent vasospasm in a rabbit model of subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH).
Methods: Eighty-five New Zealand White rabbits were assigned to 1 of 10 groups. SAH was induced by injecting autologous blood into the cisterna magna. The treatment groups were as follows: 1) control (no SAH), 2) SAH alone, 3) SAH plus vehicle every 12 hours (BID), 4) SAH plus 5 mg/kg TBC BID, 5) SAH plus 10 mg/kg TBC BID, 6) SAH plus 20 mg/kg TBC BID, 7) SAH plus vehicle at 24 and 36 hours after SAH (24/36), 8) SAH plus 5 mg/kg TBC 24/36, 9) SAH plus 10 mg/kg TBC 24/36, and 10) SAH plus 20 mg/kg TBC 24/36. Animals were killed 48 hours after SAH, by perfusion-fixation, and then basilar arteries were histologically prepared and their cross-sectional areas were measured.
Results: The mean basilar artery cross-sectional area was constricted from 0.332 mm2 in the control group to 0.131 mm2 in the SAH alone group, 0.132 in the vehicle 24/36 group, and 0.125 in the vehicle BID group. All groups treated with TBC showed an increase in cross-sectional luminal basilar artery area, relative to the vehicle-treated groups. The 5 mg/kg TBC BID group exhibited a mean basilar artery area of 0.217 mm2, and the 10 mg/kg TBC BID group showed a mean basilar artery area of 0.240 mm2; both groups were statistically improved, compared with the vehicle-treated groups (P < 0.05). No side effects were seen, and there were no differences in the mean arterial pressures between drug- and vehicle-treated groups.
Conclusion: These findings demonstrate that systemic administration of the ETA receptor antagonist TBC significantly attenuates cerebral vasospasm after SAH, thus providing additional support for the role of ET-1 in vasospasm.