Artículos de revistas
Inflammatory responses in the rat superior colliculus after eye enucleation
Fecha
2014-02Registro en:
Brain Research Bulletin, Phoenix, v.101, p.1-6, 2014
10.1016/j.brainresbull.2013.12.001
Autor
Hernandes, Marina Sorrentino
Britto, Luiz Roberto Giorgetti de
Institución
Resumen
Ocular enucleation induces profound morphological alterations in central visual areas. However, little is known about the response of glial cells and possible inflammatory processes in visual brain areas resulting from eye enucleation. In this study, immunoblotting and immunostaining assays revealed increased expression of astrocyte and microglia markers in the rat superior colliculus (SC) between 1 and 15 days after contralateral enucleation. A transient increase of neuronal COX-2 protein expression was also found in the SC. To evaluate the role of an anti-inflammatory drug in attenuating both COX-2 and glial cell activation, the synthetic glucocorticoid dexamethasone (DEX) was administered (1mg/kg i.p., for 3 days) to enucleated rats. Immunoblotting data revealed that DEX treatment significantly inhibited COX-2 protein expression. Postlesion immunostaining for astrocyte and microglia markers was also significantly reduced by DEX treatment. These findings suggest that the removal of retinal ganglion cell input generates inflammatory responses in central retinorecipient structures