Protective effects of edaravone on retinal cells after optical nerve crash in rats

Objective To investigate the content of reactive oxygen species(ROS) in the process of retinal cells apoptosis after optical nerve crash in rats,and discuss the protective effects of edaravone on retinal cells.Methods A total of 192 SD rats with half males and half females were randomly divided into normal group,sham-operation group,control group and treatment group,48 rats in each group.In the control and treatment group,the optic nerve crush model was made.In the treatment group,diluted edaravone(30 mg·kg-1) with normal saline was intraperitoneally injected every 12 hours after modeling.The delivery time was 30 minutes with a total of 14 days.Rats were killed at 3 days,6 days,10 days and 14 days during the experiment.The TUNEL labeled apoptotic was done,apoptotic cells in each group were observed by laser scanning confocal microscope,retinal structure was checked by light microscopic,2’,7’-dichloro fluorescein pair of dihydroartemisinin acetate ester(DCFH-DA) as the labeled probe,fluorescence intensity of 2’,7’-dichloro fluorescein dihydrotestosterone in retinal cells was checked by flow cytometry at different time points of four groups.Retinal cell apoptosis rate was checked by double staining of AnnexinV/PI via flow cytometry at different time points of four groups.Results From 3 days to 14 days after modeling,TUNEL-positive labeling could be observed occasionally in retinal cells of normal group and sham-operation group,a large number of TUNEL-positive labeled cells were observed in the control group,but the treatment group was significantly less than the control group.At 3 days,6 days,10 days and 14 days,the expression of ROS in retinal cells in normal group were 32.530±2.203,43.600±3.635,32.800±1.952,45.330±2.902,respectively,treatment group were 84.507±3.754,65.130±5.308,63.400±5.226,66.990±6.320,respectively,control group were 92.830±2.875,99.900±0.100,99.300±1.212,92.470±2.159,respectively,there were statistical differences among three groups at each time point(all P0.05),but no difference between sham-operation group and normal group(all P0.05).At 3 days,6 days,10 days and 14 days,the apoptosis rate of cells in normal group was (9.550±0.325)%,(10.380±0.642)%,(11.540±1.224)% and (10.520±0.839)%,respectively,treatment group were (22.960±2.574)%,(27.590±1.369)%,(33.950±4.580)%,(25.810±2.170)%,respectively,control group were (35.510±3.086)%,(37.550±2.357)%,(40.220±5.011)%,(34.320±3.351)%,respectively,there were statistical differences among three groups at each time point(all P0.05),but no difference between sham group and normal group(all P0.05).Conclusion Edaravone inhibits the apoptosis of retinal cells by eliminating ROS,and has certain protective effects on retinal cells.