Date of Award

Fall 2007

Project Type

Thesis

Program or Major

Animal Science

Degree Name

Master of Science

Abstract

Hyperthermia is being studied as a means of disrupting blood-brain barrier (BBB) integrity. An in vitro BBB model was exposed to 10 s of 45, 48, or 51°C, or 5 s of 54°C, and TEER was used to assess integrity. Loss of BBB integrity increased as temperature increased (r = 0.88, P<0.0001). Thermotolerance was examined by applying a second hyperthermia to models 24 h afterward. Models demonstrated thermotolerance, indicated by less loss (P<0.001) of integrity compared to controls. The degree of thermotolerance increased as pre-conditioning temperature increased (r = 0.42, P<0.0001). Hsp27 and Hsp70 were analyzed by Western blot to examine their contribution to this thermotolerance. Hsp27 was not changed (P>0.10) by the pre-conditioning heat treatments. Hsp70 expression increased (P<0.05) in response to pre-conditioning for 5 s at 54°C. This thermotolerance cannot be explained by changes in Hsp27 (r = 0.17, P>0.10) and Hsp70 (r = -0.17, P>0.10).

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