AIM:To study the effect of the NLRP3/autophagy pathway on the photoreceptor inflammatory response and the protective mechanism of CY-09 and astaxanthin(AST).METHODS:ICR mice were intraperitoneally injected NaIO_(3),CY-09,AST successively and divided into 5 groups,including the control,NaIO_(3),NaIO_(3)+CY-09,NaIO_(3)+AST,and NaIO_(3)+CY-09+AST groups.Spectral domain optical coherence tomography and flash electroretinogram were examined and the retina tissues were harvested for immunohistochemistry,enzyme linked immunosorbent assay(ELISA),and Western blotting.Retinal pigment epithelium cell line(ARPE-19 cells)and mouse photoreceptor cells line(661W cells)were also treated with NaIO_(3),CY-09,and AST successively.Cell proliferation was assessed by cell counting kit-8(CCK-8)assay.Apoptosis was analyzed by flow cytometry.Changes in autophagosome morphology were observed by transmission electron microscopy.Quantitative polymerase chain reaction(qPCR)was used to detect NLRP3 and caspase-1.NLRP3,caspase-1,cleaved caspase-1,p62,Beclin-1,and LC3 protein levels were measured by Western blotting.IL-1βand IL-18 were measured by ELISA.RESULTS:Compared with the control group,the activity of NaIO_(3)-treated 661W cells decreased within 24 and 48h,apoptosis increased,NLRP3,caspase-1,IL-1βand IL-18 levels increased,and autophagy-related protein levels increased(P<0.05).Compared with NaIO_(3) group,CY-09 and AST inhibited apoptosis(P<0.05),reduced NLRP3,caspase-1,IL-1βand IL-18 expression(P<0.05),and inhibited autophagy.Compared with the other groups,CY-09 combined with AST significantly decreased NLRP3 expression and inhibited the expression of the autophagy-related proteins p62,Beclin-1,and LC3 in vitro and in vivo(P<0.05).CONCLUSION:CY-09 and AST inhibit NaIO_(3)-induced inflammatory damage through the NLRP3/autophagy pathway in vitro and in vivo.CY-09 and AST may protect retina from inflammatory injury.
