Table 1. Experimental outline of treatment groups, time points and sample numbers.
| STUDY ID | STUDY OUTCOME/MEASURE | TREATMENT GROUPS (FINAL ‘N’) | ||||||
| 1 | 0ptimal Dose[*] | Injury-only (n = 5) | Vehicle (n = 7) | 0.1 mg/kg (n = 5) | 0.5 mg/kg (n = 5) | 1.0 mg/kg (n = 5) | 5.0 mg/kg (n = 4) | |
| 2 | Optimal Route[*] | Injury-only (n = 5) | Vehicle i.v (n = 7)Vehicle s.c. (n = 7) | 1.0 mg/kg Oral (n = 6) | 1.0 mg/kg Subcut. (n = 5) | 1.0 mg/kg Intravenous (n = 5) | ||
| 3 | Optimal therapeutic window[* , $] | Injury-only (n = 5) | Vehicle (n = 9) | 1 h PI (n = 6) | 2 h PI (n = 5) | 4 h PI (n = 6) | 24 h PI (n = 6) | 48 h PI (n = 6) |
| 4 | Cytokine protein array[$ , +] | Uninjured (n = 3) | Injury- only (n = l2) | Vehicle (n = 12) | 1 h PI (n = 4) | 4 h PI (n = 4) | 25 h/1 h PI (n = 4) | 25 h/24 h PI (n = 4) |
| 5 | Cytokine ELlSAs[$ , +] | Uninjured (n = 3) | Injury- only (n = 6) | Vehicle (n = 6) | 1 h PI (n = 3) | 25 h/24 h PI (n = 3) | ||
| 6 | PDE4 Immunoblots[$ , +] | Uninjured (n = 4) | Injury- only (n = l2) | Vehicle (n = 12) | 2 h/1 h PI (n = 5) | 4 h/1 h PI (n = 5) | 25 h/1 h PI (n = 5) | 25 h/24 h PI (n = 5) |
| 7 | PDE4 immunohistochemistry [24 h post-SCI survival$] | Uninjured (n = 4) | Injury- only (n = 5) | Vehicle (n = 5) | 1 h PI (n = 5) | |||
| 8 | Immune cell infiltration[$ , #] | Injury only (n = 7) | Vehicle (n = 7) | 1 h PI (n = 7) | 2 h PI (n = 8) | 4 h PI (n = 7) | 24 h PI (n = 10) | 48 h PI (n = 8) |
| 9 | Locomotor Function[$ , &] | Injury only (n = 8) | Vehicle (n = 8) | 1 h PI (n = 8) | ||||
| TOTAL | 318+19 (attrition/exclusion) = 337 rats | |||||||
The animals used in this study were divided into 9 separate experiments based on the outcomes of the work. Listed in the table are the goals of each experiment as well as the treatment group allocation and number of animals per group. Gray shading is used to identify Rolipram treatment groups. Timepoints for specific groups indicate the sacrifice endpoint; when separated by a “/” the second time indicates the time when Rolipram was delivered. Symbols are as follows:
(*)
animals survived for 2 weeks post-SCI;
(#)
animals survived for 3 days post-SCI;
(&)
animals survived for 6 weeks post-SCI;
($)
animals given 1.0 mg/kg Rolipram i.v.;
(+)
injury only and vehicle controls sub-divided into 3 groups (1, 4, or 25 h post-SCI; n = 4 each).