Inhibiting NLRP3 Inflammasome Activation to Alleviate Retinal Inflammation and Protect the Optic Nerve of OPTN(E50K)Mice.

OPTN (E50K) mutation is one of the significant pathogenic mutations in normal tension glaucoma (NTG). The molecular mechanism of NTG optic nerve injury is complex and diverse; its key mechanism is still unclear. The NLR family pyrin domain containing (NLRP3) inflammasome plays an essential role in the occurrence and development of inflammation. There is no report on whether NLRP3 inflammasome activation plays a crucial role in NTG optic nerve injury. Here, we explored the role of retinal inflammatory cascade reaction triggered by NLRP3 inflammasome activation in OPTN (E50K) mutated NTG optic nerve injury. This research may provide innovative strategies for effectively treating NTG optic nerve injury caused by OPTN (E50K) mutation. The R28 cell was constructed by AAV2 transfection, named GFP-R28, WT-R28, and E50K-R28 groups. Western blot, qPCR, and immunofluorescence were performed to measure the expression levels of the neurotrophic factors, the senescence indicators, the NLRP3-related indicators, the expression of the glial cell markers, and the inflammatory cytokines. Further, observe the changes in the above indicators in the WT-R28 and E50K-R28 groups after treatment with MCC950. Next, we compared the expression of neurotrophic factors and senescence indicators, NLRP3-related indicators, glial cell markers, and inflammatory factors between young and old WT and OPTN (E50K) mice. We examined the visual function of mice on days 1, 4 and 7. Furthermore, we observed the retinal morphology and the expression of neurotrophic factors and senescence indicators, NLRP3-related indicators, glial cell markers, and inflammatory factors between all groups were measured. We found that OPTN (E50K) mutations lead to NLRP3 inflammasome activation. The OPTN (E50K) mutant groups showed an inflammatory cascade, including glial cell activation and release of proinflammatory factors, leading to retinal structural and functional impairment in mice.MCC950 effectively inhibited the activation of the NLRP3 inflammasome and alleviated the retinal inflammatory cascade caused by the OPTN (E50K) mutation, ultimately improving visual function and retinal damage in mice. OPTN (E50K) mutation induces the activation of the NLRP3 inflammasome, which leads to a retinal inflammatory cascade. MCC950 can inhibit the activation of the NLRP3 inflammasome and retinal inflammatory cascade, improving visual function in OPTN (E50K) mutation mice.