Expression of triggering receptor expressed on myeloid cells in periventricular leukomalacia of neonatal rat model

Objective To investigate the expression of triggering receptor expressed on myeloid cells(TREMs)in periventricular leukomalacia(PVL) of the neonatal rat model. Methods Thirty-two 3-day-old neonatal rats were double-blinded randomly divided into Sham group and Model group.The PVL rat model was established by ligating right carotid artery and oxygen deprivation.Hematoxylin-eosin (HE) was adopted to compare pathological changes of brain tissue between the two groups, and immunofluorescence was adopted to detect the expression of myline basic protein (MBP) in the right hemisphere of the two groups.Western blot was performed to detect the expression of TREM1 and TREM2 in the right hemisphere of the two groups. Results The results of HE staining showed that the brain tissues of Model group were significantly damaged compared with that of Sham group, and the mean fluorescence intensity of MBP in Model group(26.629±2.317) was significantly lower than that in Sham group(33.579±2.824), with statistically significant differences(t=9.124, P<0.05). The expression of TREM1 in Model group(0.789 ±0.120) was higher than that in Sham group(0.567±0.093), with statistically significant differences(t=-3.891, P<0.05). The expression of TREM2 in Model group(0.544±0.133) was lower than that in Sham group(0.791±0.118), with statistically significant differences(t=3.667, P<0.05). Conclusion The expressions of TREM1 and TREM2 in the neonatal rat model of PVL change abnormally, suggesting that TREMs may be involved in the pathological process of preterm white matter injury. Key words: Periventricular leukomalacia; White matter injury; Brain injury; Triggering receptor expressed on myeloid cells; Rat