Target inhibition of caspase-8 alleviates brain damage after subarachnoid hemorrhage

摘要

Caspase-8 plays an important role in the mediation of inflammation and the effect of its role in subarachnoid hemorrhage remains elusive.The nucleotide-binding oligomerization domain-like receptor protein 3 inflammasome has been postulated to mediate inflammation during SAH.The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of caspase-8 inhibition on SAH injury and further elucidate the molecular mechanisms.In this study,a subarachnoid hemorrhage model was established by endovascular perforation process in adult male Sprague-Dawley rats.Z-IETD-FMK(0.5,1,2 mg/kg;an inhibitor of caspase-8)was delivered via intravenous(tail vein)injection immediately after subarachnoid hemorrhage.After 12 hours of subarachnoid hemorrhage,western blot assay showed that the expression of cleaved caspase-8 was significantly increased at 12 hours,peaked at 24 hours,and then decreased at 72 hours after subarachnoid hemorrhage.Immunofluorescence staining demonstrated that caspase-8 was expressed in microglia after subarachnoid hemorrhage.Z-IETDFMK significantly improved neurological deficits and reduced brain water content 24 hours after subarachnoid hemorrhage.The Morris water maze and rotarod test confirmed that Z-IETD-FMK significantly improved spatial learning and memory abilities and motor coordination at 21–27 days after subarachnoid hemorrhage.Furthermore,inhibition of caspase-8 activation reduced the expression of pyrin domain-containing 3,caspase-1,and interleukin-1βafter subarachnoid hemorrhage.In conclusion,our findings suggest that caspase-8 inhibition alleviates subarachnoid hemorrhage-induced brain injuries by suppressing inflammation.The study was approved by the Institutional Animal Ethics Committee of the First Affiliated Hospital,School of Medicine,Zhejiang University,China(approval No.2016-193)on February 25,2016.