Sulforaphane alleviates retinal ganglion cell death and inflammation by suppressing NLRP3 inflammasome activation in a rat model of retinal ischemia/reperfusion injury

This study aims to study the potentials of sulforaphane (SFN) against retinal ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury. A rat retinal I/R injury method was established. Retinal thickness change and retinal ganglion cell (RGC) death were determined using hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) staining and Fluoro-Gold (FG) labeling. The inflammatory cytokines production and microglia activation were evaluated by using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR), Western blot, and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Knockdown NLRP3 was performed, and the according changes of retinal RGCs were assessed. SFN administration significantly inhibited I/R and caused retinal thickness change and prevented RGCs death in retinal I/R model. SFN suppressed inflammatory cytokines production, microglia activation, and inflammasome activation. In accordance, NLRP3 knockdown presented the similar inhibitory effect on I/R rats. This study demonstrates that SFN prevents RGCs death and acts as a potent neuroprotective modulator in retinal I/R injury, which may be associated with inhibition of the NLRP3 inflammasome activation.