Melatonin Alleviates Spinal Cord Ischemia-reperfusion Injury in Rats by Inhibiting Neuron Pyroptosis
10.13241/j.cnki.pmb.2025.13.001
- VernacularTitle:褪黑素通过抑制神经元焦亡缓解大鼠脊髓缺血再灌注损伤
- Author:
Qiu-ping HE
1
;
Lei XIE
;
Hai-ning PENG
;
Xiao XIAO
;
Teng-bo YU
Author Information
1. 青岛大学青岛医学院 山东青岛 266000
- Publication Type:Journal Article
- Keywords:
Melatonin;
Pyroptosis;
Spinal cord ischemia-reperfusion injury;
NLRP3
- From:
Progress in Modern Biomedicine
2025;25(13):2081-2091
- CountryChina
- Language:Chinese
-
Abstract:
Objective:To investigate the effects of melatonin(MT)on spinal cord ischemia reperfusion injury(SCIRI)and its possible mechanisms in rats.Methods:Forty-two 6-week-old male Sprague Dawley rats were selected for the study and randomly divided into three groups:① Sham group(Sham group,n=14);② model group(model/SCIRI group,n=14);and ③ treatment group(MT group,n=14).Neurological function analysis was used to assess the motor conditions of rats in each group.Nissl staining and hematoxylin eosin(HE)staining were used to observe the number and morphology of neurons in each group,and TUNEL staining was used to evaluate the occurrence of apoptosis of neurons in each group.The expression levels of NOD-like receptor thermal protein domain-associated protein 3(NLRP3),apoptosis-associated speck-like protein(ASC),gasdermin D(GSDMD),the N-terminal fragment of gasdermin D(GSDMD-N),and cysteine proteinase 1(caspase-1)were evaluated using immunofluorescence,immunohistochemistry staining,and Western blot analysis.Results:Compared with the sham operation group,the neurological function score of the model group was significantly decreased,while the neurological function score of the treatment group was higher than that of the model group(P＜0.05).The model group had fewer Nissl corpuscles compared with that in the sham operation group and abnormal neuronal morphology(P＜0.05).Compared with the model group,the treatment group had a rise in the number of Nissl corpuscles and restored neuronal morphology(P＜0.05).Compared with the Sham group,the number of apoptotic neurons increased in the model group,and the protein expression levels of NLRP3,ASC,GSDMD,and caspase-1 increased(P＜0.05).Compared with the model group,The number of apoptotic neurons and the protein expressions of NLRP3,ASC,GSDMD and caspase-1 in the treatment group were significantly decreased(P＜0.05).Conclusions:MT may alleviate spinal cord ischemia-reperfusion injury by inhibiting pyroptosis in neurons.
