The role of neutrophil extracellular traps in inflammatory changes in rat retinas under microgravity conditions

doi:10.3877/cma.j.issn.2095-1221.2025.02.002

Abstract

Abstract:

Objective

To investigate the structural changes of the retina and the variations in inflammatory factors in a rat model simulating microgravity， and verify the effects of NETosis.

Methods

Forty rats were randomly divided into control group and tail-suspension group， with 20 rats in each group.Weightlessness model was established by tail-suspension method with a suspension duration of four weeks.HE staining was performed to observe changes in retinal structure， and OCTA was used to measure retinal perfusion area and thickness.Qualitative assessments were made of the retinal structures and NETosis-related regulatory factors［myeloperoxidase （MPO）， citrullinated histone H3 （CIT-H3）， and neutrophil elastase （NE）］.Quantitative evaluations were conducted on NETosis-related regulatory factors［MPO， peptidylarginine deiminase 4 （PAD4）， CIT-H3， and NE］，pro-inflammatory factors （IL-1， IL-6， and TNF-α）， and anti-inflammatory factors （IL-10） before and after simulating microgravity.Independent samples t-tests were used for statistical analysis of the quantitative results.

Results

Compared with the control group， the retinal perfusion area ［0- 6mm：（26.93 ± 0.18） vs （24.96 ± 0.26）mm²］ and retinal thickness［0-6mm：（255.42 ± 3.37）vs（230.77 ±4.13）μm］ were increased in tail-suspension group （all P ＜ 0.05）with varying degrees of thickening as well as disrupted and disorganized arrangement of retinal cell layers.In addition， the expression levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines， including IL-1β［（10.59 ± 0.31） vs （8.25 ± 0.21）pg/（mg·pro）］，IL-6［（32.97 ± 1.11） vs（ 22.89 ± 0.87）pg/（mg·pro）］， and TNF-α［（102.47 ± 4.01） vs （65.84 ±3.48）pg/ （mg·pro）］ as well as NETosis-related regulatory factors MPO （0.68 ± 0.01 vs 0.27 ± 0.01），NE （0.50 ± 0.02 vs 0.18 ± 0.02）， CitH3 （0.89 ± 0.01 vs 0.31 ± 0.02）， and PAD4 （0.61 ± 0.01 vs 0.15 ± 0.02）were elevated， while the anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-10［（15.34 ± 0.35） vs （21.17 ±0.63）pg/（mg·pro）］ was reduced in tail-suspension group（all P＜ 0.05）.

Conclusion

Simulating a microgravity environment induces pathological changes in the retinal structure of rats， elevates inflammation levels， which maybe related with NETosis.

Key words: Microgravity, Retina, Inflammatory factors, NETosis

Meng Liu, Hanwen Zheng, Fei Ren, Yuyu Wang, Rong Zhang, Caiyun Gao, Feilong Song, Hui Gao, Jianwen Gu, Chuang Nie. The role of neutrophil extracellular traps in inflammatory changes in rat retinas under microgravity conditions[J]. Chinese Journal of Cell and Stem Cell(Electronic Edition), 2025, 15(02): 75-81.

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References 37

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