Hydrogen sulfide mitigates memory impairments via the restoration of glutamatergic neurons in a mouse model of hemorrhage shock and resuscitation

Impaired long-term memory, a complication of traumatic stress including hemorrhage shock and resuscitation (HSR), has been reported to be associated with multiple neurodegenerations. The ventral tegmental area (VTA) participates in both learned appetitive and aversive behaviors. In addition to being prospective targets for the therapy of addiction, depression, and other stress-related diseases, VTA glutamatergic neurons are becoming more widely acknowledged as powerful regulators of reward and aversion. This study revealed that HSR exposure induces memory impairments and decreases the activation in glutamatergic neurons, and decreased β power in the VTA. We also found that optogenetic activation of glutamatergic neurons in the VTA mitigated HSR-induced memory impairments, and restored β power. Moreover, hydrogen sulfide (H2S), a gasotransmitter with pleiotropic roles, has neuroprotective functions at physiological concentrations. In vivo, H2S administration improved HSR-induced memory deficits, elevated c-fos-positive vesicular glutamate transporters (Vglut2) neurons, increased β power, and restored the balance of γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) and glutamate in the VTA. This work suggests that glutamatergic neuron stimulation via optogenetic assay and exogenous H2S may be useful therapeutic approaches for improving memory deficits following HSR.

Hirudin ameliorates myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury in a rat model of hemorrhagic shock and resuscitation: roles of NLRP3-signaling pathway

Severe hemorrhage shock and resuscitation (HSR) has been reported to induce myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury (MIRI), resulting in a poor prognosis. Hirudin, an effective thrombin inhibitor, can offer protection against MIRI. This study aimed to determine if hirudin administration ameliorates HSR-induced MIRI and the underlying mechanism. A rat model of HSR was established by bleeding rats to a mean arterial blood pressure of 30-35 mmHg for 45 min and then resuscitating them with all the shed blood through the left femoral vein. After HSR, 1 mg/kg of hirudin was administrated immediately. At 24 h after HSR, the cardiac injury was assessed using serum CK-MB, cTnT, hematoxylin-eosin (HE) staining, echocardiography, M1-polarized macrophages, and pyroptosis-associated factors, including cleaved caspase-1, Gasdermin D (GSDMD) N-terminal, IL-1β, and IL-18 were measured by immunofluorescence and western blot assays. Nigericin, a unique agonist, was utilized to evaluate the responsibilities of NLRP3 signaling. Under the HSR condition, rats exhibited a significant increase in myocardial injury score, an elevation of serum cTnT, CK-MB levels, an aggrandization of M1-polarized macrophages, an upregulation of pyroptosis-associated factors, including cleaved caspase-1, GSDMD N-terminal, IL-1β, and IL-18, but a significant decrease in left ventricular ejection fraction (EF%) and a reduction of left ventricular fractional shortening (FS%), while hirudin administration partially restored the changes. However, the NLRP3 agonist nigericin reversed the cardioprotective effects of hirudin. We determined the cardioprotective effects of hirudin against HSR-induced MIRI. The mechanism may involve the inhibition of NLRP3-induced pyroptosis.

Postconditioning with sevoflurane ameliorates spatial learning and memory deficit via attenuating endoplasmic reticulum stress induced neuron apoptosis in a rat model of hemorrhage shock and resuscitation

Hemorrhage shock could initiate endoplasmic reticulum stress (ERS) and then induce neuronal apoptosis. The aim of this study was to investigate whether sevoflurane postconditioning could attenuate brain injury via suppressing apoptosis induced by ERS. Seventy male rats were randomized into five groups: sham, shock, low concentration (sevo1, 1.2%), middle concentration (sevo2, 2.4%) and high concentration (sevo3, 3.6%) of sevoflurane postconditioning. Hemorrhage shock was induced by removing 40% of the total blood volume during an interval of 30 min. 1 h after the completion of bleeding, the animals were reinfused with shed blood during the ensuing 30 min. The spatial learning and memory ability of rats were measured by Morris water maze (MWM) test three days after the operation. Terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP nick end labeling (TUNEL) positive cells in the hippocampus CA1 region were assessed after the MWM test. The expression of C/EBP-homologousprotein (CHOP) and glucose-regulated protein 78 (GRP78) in the hippocampus were measured at 24 h after reperfusion. We found that sevoflurane postconditioning with the concentrations of 2.4% and 3.6% significantly ameliorated the spatial learning and memory ability, decreased the TUNEL-positive cells, and reduced the GRP78 and CHOP expression compared with the shock group. These results suggested that sevoflurane postconditioning with the concentrations of 2.4% and 3.6% could ameliorate spatial learning and memory deficit after hemorrhage shock and resuscitation injury via suppressing apoptosis induced by ERS.