Open AccessEffect of Nrf2 signaling pathway on the improvement of intestinal epithelial barrier dysfunction by hyperbaric oxygen treatment after spinal cord injury
Author(s) -
Xuehua Liu,
Fang Liang,
Wei Song,
Xiaoli Diao,
Wanqiu Zhu,
Jing Yang
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
cell stress and chaperones
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.994
H-Index - 87
eISSN - 1466-1268
pISSN - 1355-8145
DOI - 10.1007/s12192-020-01190-1
Subject(s) - hyperbaric oxygen , spinal cord injury , signal transduction , spinal cord , reactive oxygen species , microbiology and biotechnology , medicine , chemistry , cancer research , biology , anesthesia , neuroscience
Disruption of the intestinal epithelial barrier following spinal cord injury (SCI) seriously affect long-term quality of life. Oxidative stress-induced epithelial cells' injury contributes to the epithelial barrier dysfunction. Hyperbaric oxygen (HBO) treatment has been proved to alleviate SCI. However, it is unclear whether or not HBO treatment affects intestinal barrier function following SCI. In this study, our purpose was to explore the impact of HBO treatment on intestinal epithelial barrier function and underlying mechanisms following SCI. An SCI model was established in rats, and the rats received HBO treatment. Intestinal injury, mucosal permeability, intercellular junction proteins, and oxidative stress indicators were evaluated in our study. We found that HBO treatment significantly alleviated intestinal histological damage, reduced mucosal permeability, and markedly prevented bacterial translocation. Furthermore, HBO treatment significantly increased the expression of Claudin-1 and E-cadherin, inhibited intestinal tissue oxidative stress as demonstrated by upregulation of superoxide dismutase and glutathione, and HBO downregulated malondialdehyde. Mechanically, we demonstrated that HBO treatment ameliorated intestinal oxidative stress possibly through upregulating nuclear factor E2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) and its downstream targets, Heme oxygenase-1(HO-1), NADH-quinone oxidoreductase-1(NQO-1), and glutamate cysteine ligase catalytic subunit (GCLC). These results suggested that HBO treatment triggered antioxidative effects against intestinal epithelial barrier dysfunction by promoting Nrf2 signaling pathway after SCI.