Astrocyte activity and autophagy after radiation-induced brain injury in rats

AIM: To investigate the activity of astrocytes and autophagy-related changes after radiation-induced brain injury (RBI) in rats.METHODS: A total of 36 Sprague-Dawley rats, weighing 180~200 g, were trained for 4 d in the Morris water maze. They were randomly divided into sham group, model group and 3-methyladenine (3-MA) group. The rats in model group and 3-MA group were given single whole-brain X-ray irradiation at a dose of 20 Gy after intraperitoneal anesthesia. After the irradiation was completed, the rats in model group was given 5 μL of NaCl into the lateral ventricle, and the rats in 3-MA group was injected with 3-MA at 600 nmol into the lateral ventricle. After 8 weeks of feeding, Morris water maze was used for measuring the learning and memory abilities. The brain tissues were taken and HE staining was used to observe the pathological changes of the hippocampus. The protein level of GFAP was determined by immunohistochemistry and Western blot for evaluating astrocyte activity. Dual fluorescence staining of GFAP and LC3 was performed for evaluating the changes of autophagy in the astrocytes. The protein level of cleaved caspase-3 detected by Western blot and TUNEL staining in the ipsilateral hippocampus were used to evaluate the apoptosis. The contents of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) were examined by ELISA to assess the inflammatory response in the hippocampus.RESULTS: Radiation inhibited astrocyte activity, activated autophagy in astrocytes, and aggravated brain damage. 3-MA promoted the activation of astrocytes and promoted the repair of brain tissue damage.CONCLUSION: The injury of rat hippocampus after radiation is obvious, and the number of astrocytes is significantly reduced. 3-MA significantly attenuates the damage. This finding may provide a new approach for the treatment of radiation-induced brain injury.