N-acetylserotonin alleviates retinal ischemia-reperfusion injury via HMGB1/RAGE/NF-κB pathway in rats

AIM:To observe the effects of N-acetylserotonin(NAS)administration on retinal ischemia-reperfusion(RIR)injury in rats and explore the underlying mechanisms involving the high mobility group box 1(HMGB1)/receptor for advanced glycation end-products(RAGE)/nuclear factor-kappa B(NF-κB)signaling pathway.METHODS:A rat model of RIR was developed by increasing the pressure of the anterior chamber of the eye.Eighty male Sprague Dawley were randomly divided into five groups:sham group(n=8),RIR group(n=28),RIR+NAS group(n=28),RIR+FPS-ZM1 group(n=8)and RIR+NAS+FPS-ZM1 group(n=8).The therapeutic effects of NAS were examined by hematoxylin-eosin(H&E)staining,and retinal ganglion cells(RGCs)counting.The expression of interleukin 1 beta(IL-1β),HMGB1,RAGE,and nod-like receptor 3(NLRP3)proteins and the phosphorylation of nuclear factorkappa B(p-NF-κB)were analyzed by immunohistochemistry staining and Western blot analysis.The expression of HMGB1 protein was also detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay(ELISA).RESULTS:H&E staining results showed that NAS significantly reduced retinal edema and increased the number of RGCs in RIR rats.With NAS therapy,the HMGB1 and RAGE expression decreased significantly,and the activation of the NF-κB/NLRP3 pathway was antagonized along with the inhibition of p-NF-κB and NLRP3 protein expression.Additionally,NAS exhibited an anti-inflammatory effect by reducing IL-1βexpression.The inhibitory of RAGE binding to HMGB1 by RAGE inhibitor FPS-ZM1 led to a significant decrease of p-NF-κB and NLRP3 expression,so as to the IL-1βexpression and retinal edema,accompanied by an increase of RGCs in RIR rats.CONCLUSION:NAS may exhibit a neuroprotective effect against RIR via the HMGB1/RAGE/NF-κB signaling pathway,which may be a useful therapeutic target for retinal disease.

Protection of retinal ganglion cells against optic nerve injury by induction of ischemic preconditioning

AIM： To explore if ischemic preconditioning （IPC） can enhance the survival of retinal ganglion cells （RGCs） after optic nerve axotomy. METHODS： Twenty-four hours prior to retinal ischemia 60min or axotomy, IPC was applied for ten minutes in groups of （n=72） animals. The survival of RGCs, the cellular expression of heat shock protein 27 （HSP27） and heat shock protein 70 （HSP70） and the numbers of retinal microglia in the different groups were quantified at 7 and 14d post-injury. The cellular expression of HSP27 and HSP70 and changes in the numbers of retinal microglia were quantified to detect the possible mechanism of the protection of the IPC. RESULTS： Ten minutes of IPC promoted RGC survival in both the optic nerve injury （IPC-ONT） and the retinal ischemia 60min （IPC-IR60） groups, examined at 7d and 14d post-injury. Microglial proliferation showed little correlation with the extent of benefit effects of IPC on the rescue of RGCs. The number of HSP27-positive RGCs was significantly higher in the IPC-ONT group than in the sham IPC-ONT group, although the percentage of HSP27-positive RGCs did not significantly differ between groups. For the IPC-IR60 group, neither the number nor the percentage ofthe HSP27-positive RGCs differed significantly between the IPC and the sham-operated groups. The number of HSP70-positive RGCs was significantly higher for both the IPC-ONT and the IPC-IR60 experimental groups, but the percentages did not differ. CONCLUSION： The induction of IPC enhances the survival of RGCs against both axotomy and retinal ischemia.

The novel chalcone analog L2H17 protects retinal ganglion cells from oxidative stress-induced apoptosis

Chalcone is a plant metabolite widely found in fruits,vegetables,spices and tea,and has anti-tumor,anti-inflammation,immunomodulation,antibacterial and anti-oxidation activities,as well as many other pharmacological and biological effects.Our team has shown that its analogs have antioxidant activity,and oxidative stress is a pathological hallmark of retinal ischemia/reperfusion injury that can lead to retinal damage and visual loss.This investigation aims to identify a chalcone that protects retinal ganglion cells in vitro from the effects of oxidative stress and examine its mechanism.Rat retinal ganglion cell-5 cells were pretreated with chalcones and then exposed to tert-butyl hydroperoxide that causes oxidative damage.Controls received dimethyl sulfoxide only or tert-butyl hydroperoxide in dimethyl sulfoxide.Only（E）-3,4-dihydroxy-2′-methylether ketone（L2 H17）,of the five chalcone analogs,markedly increased the survival rate of oxidatively injured RGC-5 cells.Thus,subsequent experiments only analyzed the results of the L2 H17 intervention.Cell viability and apoptosis were measured.Intracellular superoxide dismutase and reactive oxygen species levels were used to assess induced oxidative stress.The mechanism of action by L2 H17 was explored by measuring the ER stress/UPR pathway and the expression and localization of Nrf2.All results demonstrated that L2 H17 could reduce the apoptosis of oxidatively injured cells,inhibit caspase-3 activity,increase Bcl-2 expression,decrease Bad expression,increase the activity of superoxide dismutase,inhibit the production of reactive oxygen species,increase Nrf2 immunoreactivity,and reduce the activating transcription factor 4,phospho-eukaryotic initiation factor 2 and CHOP expression.L2 H17 protects retinal ganglion cells induced by oxidative stress by regulating Nrf2,which indicates that it has the potential to become a drug for retinal ischemia/reperfusion.

Early activation of caspase-1 after retinal ischemia and reperfusion injury in mice

Background Caspases are important in the signaling pathway of cellular apoptosis Caspase-3 protein expression has been shown to increase and parallel to neuronal apoptosis in retinal ischemia injury This study was to determine whether caspase-1 is involved in neuronal cell death or in retinal ischemia and reperfusion injury Methods In twenty-one adult mice, ischemia was induced by increasing the intraocular pressure The animals were sacrificed at 1 hour, 3 hours, 6 hours, 1 day, 3 days and 7 days after reperfusion Frozen sections were used for caspase-1 immunostaining and TUNEL labeling Results In normal retina, no caspase-1 positive cells were seen One hour after ischemia, numerous positive cells were noted in the ganglion cell layer (GCL) and inner side of inner nuclear layer (INL) At 3 hours, caspase-1 positive cells continued to increase and peaked at 6 hours, then decreased significantly at 1 day TUNEL positive cells were detected at 3 hours and peaked at 1 day after ischemia Double labeling of caspase-1 and TUNEL only showed few cells with co-localization after ischemia Conclusion Caspase-1 immunoreactivity preceds to the TUNEL labeling in the GCL and INL after retinal ischemia and reperfusion injury and its early activation may play an important role in the initiation of neuronal apoptosis