Dexmedetomidine attenuates neuroinflammation by inhibiting NF-κB nuclear translocation in rats with traumatic brain injury / 中华急诊医学杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective:To explore the mechanism of dexmedetomidine (DEX) regulating microglial (MG) polarization and neuroinflammation after traumatic brain injury (TBI) in rats.Methods:Forty-two adult male SD rats were randomly (random number) divided into the sham group, TBI group, TBI+DEX group (further divided into 1 d, 3 d and 7 d subgroups), TBI+NF-κB inhibitor (pyrrolidine dithiocarbamate, PDTC) group and TBI+DEX+PDTC group, with 6 animals in each group. The rat TBI model was established according to the modified Feeney free fall method. PDTC was intraperitoneally injected 1 h after modeling with a dose of 100 mg/kg, and DEX was intraperitoneally injected 2 h after modeling with a dose of 100 μg/kg. Modified neurological severity score (mNSS) was used to evaluate rat neurological function, ELISA was used to detect serum inflammatory factors, and rats’ damaged cortex was collected to detect the phenotype markers of MG and protein expressions of MyD88 and NF-κB p65, and immunofluorescence staining was used to observe the expression and nuclear entry of NF-κB p65 in MG in injured cortex. One-way and two-way ANOVA were used to compare the measurement data among multiple groups.Results:Compared with the sham group, the mNSS score was significantly higher in the TBI group, and DEX treatment significantly decreased the mNSS score of TBI rats ( P<0.05). ELISA and Western blot results showed that in the TBI group, the tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin (IL)-1β in serum and M1 phenotype marker (TNF-α, IL-1β) in brain were increased, the expression of anti-inflammatory factor IL-10 in serum and M2 phenotype markers (arginase-1 and IL-10) in brain were decreased ( P<0.05), and DEX downregulated the expression of TNF-α, IL-1β in serum and M1 phenotype markers in brain, while upregulated the level of L-10 in serum and the M2 phenotype marker in brain ( P<0.05). In addition, the expression of MyD88 and the nuclear translocation of NF-κB p65 were inhibited in the DEX group, and this effect could be enhanced by PDTC. Conclusions:DEX modulates MG activation in TBI rats by inhibiting NF-κB nuclear translocation and reduces neuroinflammation.