Influence of progesterone on neuronal apoptosis after retinal ischemia reperfusion injury

Objective: To study the influence of progesterone pretreatment on neuronal apoptosis after retinal ischemia reperfusion injury and investigate its potential protection mechanism for optic nerves.Methods: The intraocular pressure elevation method was used to build the rabbit retinal ischemia reperfusion model.36 New Zealand white rabbits were randomly divided into normal group(n=4),control group(n=16) and progesterone group(n=16).24 h before ischemia,the control group was treated with intravenous injection of normal saline 4 ml/kg in the ear margin,while the progesterone group was treated with 4 mg/kg of progesterone.The retinal histological changes,Bcl-2 protein expression and apoptosis of control group and protestation group in different time periods after ischemia reperfusion were observed.Results: In different time periods after retinal ischemia reperfusion,HE staining showed that the retinal inner layer thickness and the number of inner nuclear layer cells of progesterone group was larger than that of the control group(P0.05);apoptosis test results showed that the apoptosis reached peak at 24 h after ischemia reperfusion,and the apoptotic cells in the inner nuclear layer of the progesterone group were less than those of the control group(P0.05);both the progesterone group and the control group showed Bcl-2 protein expression at 12 h after ischemia reperfusion,and the expression of the progesterone group was less than that of the control group(P0.05).Conclusion: Progesterone pretreatment can promote cell persistence after retinal ischemia reperfusion,reduce cell apoptosis and protect injured optic nerves.