Dynamics of Cyclooxygenase-1 Positive Microglia/Macrophage in the Retina of Pathological Model Mice as a Biomarker of the Retinal Inflammatory Diseases

• Published in: International journal of molecular sciences 2021-03, Vol.22 (7), p.3396
• Main Authors: Makabe, Kenichi, Sugita, Sunao, Futatsugi, Yoko, Takahashi, Masayo
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Animal models; Astrocytes; Autoimmune diseases; biomarker; Biomarkers; Brain diseases; Cyclooxygenase-1; cyclooxygenase-1 (COX-1); Cyclooxygenase-2; Diabetic retinopathy; Diagnosis; Experimental autoimmune uveoretinitis; functional imaging; Inflammation; Inflammatory diseases; Leukocytes (neutrophilic); Lipopolysaccharides; Localization; Macrophages; Microglia; Morphology; Nervous system; Neutrophils; Retina; retinal inflammation
• ISSN: 1422-0067; 1661-6596; 1422-0067
• DOI: 10.3390/ijms22073396

In an intraocular inflammatory state, microglia residing in the retina become active and migrate inside the retina. In this study, we investigated whether cyclooxygenase-1 (COX-1) expressed by retinal microglia/macrophage can be a biomarker for the diagnosis of retinal diseases. COX-1 was immunopositive in microglia/macrophage and neutrophils, while COX-2 was immunopositive in astrocytes and neurons in the inner layer of normal retina. The number of COX-1 positive cells per section of the retinal tissue was 14 ± 2.8 (mean ± standard deviation) in normal mice, which showed significant increase in the lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-administrated model (62 ± 5.0, = 8.7 × 10 ). In addition to microglia, we found neutrophils that were positive for COX-1. In the early stage of inflammation in the experimental autoimmune uveoretinitis (EAU), COX-1 positive cells, infiltrating from the ciliary body into the retinal outer nuclear layer, were observed. The number of infiltrating COX-1 positive cells correlated with the severity of EAU. Taken together, the increased number of COX-1 positive microglia/macrophage with morphological changes were observed in the retinas of retinal inflammatory disease models. This suggests that COX-1 can be a marker of disease-related activities of microglia/macrophage, which should be useful for the diagnosis of retinal diseases.