Abstract: Objective To investigate the expression of caspase-1 in different posttraumatic intervals and severity of brain injury. Methods The study examined brain tissue samples of slight (n=24), severe (n=24) brain injury and control (n=6) of rat, using immunohistochemical staining, western-blot and RT-PCR method. Results Up-regulating of caspase-1 expression was found in tissue from traumatic brain injury compared with controls in early 1 hour after TBI, and lasted for 2 weeks. Caspase-1 cleaved after brain injury. Conclusion These findings are the first time to demonstrate the study of different intense brain injury. The increasing of caspase-1 expression indicates that the TBI exists. The threshold area of caspase-1 positive cells is different in different severity of brain injury.

Key words: cerebral contusion, casapse-1, immunohistochemistry, western-blot, RT-PCR, apoptosis