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Marian Kies Memorial Award for 2006

Dr. Eric Sribnek


Dr. Eric Sribnek

Erik Sribnek, an MD/PhD student with Naren Banik at the Medical University of South Carolina, was the recipient of the 2006 Marian Kies Award for his studies to develop more effective therapies for spinal cord injury (SCI). The central aim of his dissertation was to evaluate the hypothesis that estrogen treatment can inhibit post-SCI neurodegeneration, prevent cell death and improve functional outcome. Injury was induced in male rats by the modified weight-drop method, and inflammation, cell death, and tissue damage were measured at an early time-point (48 h post-injury) and at a time points (6 weeks).  At both short and long intervals after injury, he found that estrogen attenuated spinal cord damage and improved functional outcome.  To determine estrogen’s mechanism of action, estrogen-mediated cytoprotection was examined in 2 cell lines: an astrocytic cell line (C6 glioma) and a ventral spinal motoneuron cell line (VSC 4.1).  Treatment with micromolar concentrations of estrogen prevented H2O2-induced apoptosis in C6 cells, and treatment with nanomolar concentrations of estrogen prevented glutamate-induced apoptosis in C6 cells, VSC 4.1 cells, and primary culture neurons. Estrogen also prevented injury induced intracellular [Ca2+] increases and attenuated increases in calpain content and/or activity. In the VSC4.1 cells, estrogen prevented post-traumatic intracellular [Ca2+] increases through the L-type voltage gated Ca2+ channels. Overall, Dr. Sribnek’s data suggest that estrogen may attenuate neuronal apoptosis in the penumbra by inhibiting Ca2+ influx and activation of Ca2+-sensitive apoptotic pathways in neurons and non-neuronal cells. Dr. Sribnek is pictured above with his advisor Dr. Naren Banik (on his left) and Rick Cohen (Chair of the Marian Kies Award Committee, on his right).

 

SL 11/15/2007