Structural and Functional Effects of C5aR1 Antagonism in a Rat Model of Neonatal Hypoxic-Ischemic Encephalopathy.

Introduction: The complement response activates upon reperfusion in neonatal hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) and contributes to excessive neuroinflammation and worse outcomes. C5a is a powerful anaphylatoxin central to each of the complement pathways, and its engagement with C5aR1 is directly tied to brain injury and neuronal death. Reasoning C5aR1 antagonism can decrease excessive neuroinflammation and thereby improve neurological and functional outcomes, we tested this hypothesis in a rat model of HIE with PMX205, a small molecule that inhibits C5a-C5aR1 interaction.

Methods: Term-equivalent pups (P10-12) were subjected to mild-moderate HIE by Vannucci's method and treated with PMX205. We compared motor and cognitive outcomes with two behavioral tests each (food handling and accelerod; novel object recognition [NOR] and open field) to improve the accuracy of our conclusions.

Results: Improvements were observed in fine motor function, balance, and exploratory behaviors, but little to no improvement in recognition memory and gross motor function. Lesion area and histological assessments showed robust cortical neuroprotection from treatment but persistent injury to the CA1 region of the hippocampus. Better structural and functional outcomes were seen within 1 day of treatment, suggesting C5aR1 antagonism beyond the latent injury phase may impair recovery. In a dose-response experiment, cerebral area loss from injury was improved only in female rats, suggesting underlying sexual dimorphisms in the complement response.

Conclusion: These results demonstrate proof-of-concept for targeting C5aR1 signaling in neonatal HIE with PMX205 and underscore the role of sex in hypoxic-ischemic injury.