Pyrimidine Derivative Ameliorates Spinal Cord Injury via Anti-apoptotic, Anti-inflammatory, and Antioxidant Effects and by Regulating Rho GTPases

One of the most important strategies for the treatment of spinal cord injury is searching for new and effective pharmacological neuroprotectors and regeneration stimulators. The derivatives of pyrimidine are universal stimulators of the regeneration of various tissues as they support the recovery of nervous structures. The protective effect of the cocrystal of 1,2-dihydro-4,6-dimethyl-1-(2-hydroxyethyl)-pyrimidinone-2 with para-aminobenzoic acid (compound conjugate III, CCIII) was explored on a rat model with a contusion spinal cord injury. Injection of CCIII significantly reduced the expression of tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha), inhibited the synthesis of myeloperoxidase (MPO), matrix metalloproteinase 9 (MPP9), cyclooxygenase-2 (COX2), and macrophage marker CD68, and increased the level of superoxide dismutase 1 (SOD1). Additionally, the expression of caspase-7 markers in the damaged tissue decreased under the action of CCIII. Treatment with the CCIII maintained a population of Olig2-positive myelin-forming cells at 30 days post-injury. The detected therapeutic effect is comparable with that of riluzole.