Construction and evaluation of a mouse model of chronic restraint intestinal stress injury
10.3969/j.issn.1005-4847.2024.02.006
- VernacularTitle:慢性束缚肠道应激损伤小鼠模型的构建与评价
- Author:
Jianhua ZHENG
1
;
Jingqing CHEN
;
Qiaoyan DONG
;
Yunzhi FA
;
Yefeng QIU
Author Information
1. 军事医学研究院实验动物中心,北京 100071
- Keywords:
chronic restraint stress;
intestinal stress injury;
intestinal barrier;
model evaluation;
apoptosis;
inflammatory response
- From:
Acta Laboratorium Animalis Scientia Sinica
2024;32(2):190-201
- CountryChina
- Language:Chinese
-
Abstract:
Objective Given that psychosocial stress can contribute to a series of diseases,such as inflammatory bowel disease and irritable bowel syndrome,we aimed to establish an experimental chronic restraint mouse intestinal stress injury model as a basis for exploring the pathogenic mechanism of chronic restraint stress-induced gastrointestinal diseases,and for developing preventive and curative measures.Methods Eighteen male SPF-grade BALB/c mice were acclimatized for 7 days and then divided into a control group and a chronic restraint stress group according to body weight,using a randomized numerical table method.The mice were subjected to restraint stress for 3 hours per day for 14 days to establish an intestinal injury model.The model was evaluated by observing body weight,pathological changes in intestinal histomorphology,expression of tight junction proteins,apoptosis of intestinal epithelial cells,and mRNA expression levels of inflammatory cytokines.Results After 14 days of chronic restraint stress,model mice showed weight loss,shortened duodenal villus height,abnormal crypt structure,a decreased villus/crypt ratio,colonic mucosal inflammatory cell infiltration,and irregular crypt structure.Protein immunoblotting,immunohistochemistry,and immunofluorescence staining showed that the expression levels of the duodenal and colonic tight junction proteins Occludin and Claudin-1 were significantly decreased in mice after chronic restraint stress(P<0.05),while expression levels of the apoptotic protein cleaved-caspase-3 in intestinal epithelial cells were significantly increased(P<0.05).Regarding the mRNA expression levels of intestinal inflammatory factors and chemokines,chronic restraint stress for 14 days significantly increased the gene expression levels of interleukin(IL)-1β,IL-6,monocyte chemoattractant protein-1(MCP-1),tumor necrosis factor-α,and IL-10 in the duodenum of mice(P<0.05),and significantly increased the gene expression levels ofIL-1β,IL-6,and MCP-1 in the colon(P<0.001).Conclusions The use of a behavioral restriction device to restrain mice continuously for 14 days led to abnormal intestinal tissue structure,intestinal barrier dysfunction,and intestinal epithelial cell apoptosis,and triggered an intestinal inflammatory response in the stressed mice,indicating successful establishment of a mouse model of intestinal injury by chronic restraint stress.