Nrf2 knockout: The effect on neurological dysfunction and the activation of glial cells of mice after brain injury

ABSTRACT

To investigate the protective role and possible mechanisms of Nrf2 gene in cerebral trauma in mice. The types Nrf2[-/-] and Nrf2[+/+] mice were confirmed by PCR, and the model of closed head injury was established. The severity of injury and the effect of the injury on neurological status were assessed by Neurological Severity Score [NSS] and fatality rate, and the activated conditions of microglia and astrocyte around the injured area were observed by immunohistochemical method. Compared with Nrf2[+/+] mice, the nerve dysfunction of the Nrf2[-/-] mice was obviously more severe [P<0.01]. On the first day after injury, the activation of microglia around the injured area increased significantly in Nrf2 [-/-] mice, the difference was more significant on the third day, and there was still statistical difference until the 7th day [P<0.05]. Moreover, On the days 1, 3, 7 after injury, the activation of astrocyte around the injured area also increased in Nrf2[-/-] mice, however, there was statistical difference only on the 3[rd] day [P<0.05]. Nrf2 gene knockout can aggravate the nerve dysfunction after cerebral trauma, and this effect is achieved, at least partly, possibly via the effect of Nrf2 on glial activation