The present study aimed to investigate the association between the serum
SIRT1 protein and the severity of
spinal cord injury (SCI) as well as the neurological recovery in mice. In this study, the wild-type (WT), Mx1-Cre+ SIRT1loxP/loxP (Mx1), and LCK-Cre+SIRT1loxP/loxP (LCK) mice were subjected to
sham surgery, mild, moderate, or severe SCI, respectively. The serum was collected at intervals of 12 h, 1 day (d), 3 d, 5 d, 7 d, 10 d, 14 d, and 21 d after the injury. The locomotor function of all the animals was assessed using the Basso mouse scale (BMS) and the serum
SIRT1 proteins were analyzed using
enzyme-linked
immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The results demonstrated that about 7-10 d after SCI, the levels of
SIRT1 protein in the serum correlated significantly with the severity of the injury and at 28 d post-injury, there was a distant neurological recovery (BMS score). The serum
SIRT1 concentration in both the Mx1 and LCK mice in the
sham group was significantly reduced compared to that in the WT mice, and there was a delayed increase in the serum
SIRT1 levels after injury. These findings indicate that the
SIRT1 concentrations in the serum of the SCI mice closely correlated with the acute severity and neurological outcome.