The influence of enriched environment on cognitive impairment and GAP-43 content changes in pregnant mice with obstructive sleep apnea-hypopnea syndrome through regulating the NF-κB/NLRP3 pathway

Acta Universitatis Medicinalis Anhui 2025, 07, v.60 1212-1217     font:big middle small

Fund programs: Natural Science Research Project of Anhui Educational Committee (No. 2022AH050759)

Authors:Cheng Yunzhou; Li Xueyan; Zhang Yueming; Wei Rumeng; Wang Yang

Keywords:enriched environment; OSAHS; cognitive impairment; GAP-43;NF-κB; NLRP3;

DOI:10.19405/j.cnki.issn1000-1492.2025.07.007

〔Abstract〕 Objective To investigate the effect of environmental enrichment on cognitive impairment and hippo- campus GAP-43 changes induced by exposure to obstructive sleep apnea-hypopnea syndrome ( OSAHS) during the period of late pregnancy in mice,and to explore relative inflammatory pathway mechanism.Methods The experi- mental group of C57BL/6J pregnant mice were exposed to an intermittent hypoxic environment for 7 consecutive days starting from gestational day 15.The corresponding offspring were then placed in an enriched environment from postnatal day 21 to 2 months of age (designated as OSAHS + EE group) or in a normal environment (designat- ed as OSAHS group) .Pregnant mice in the control group were maintained in a normal oxygen environment,and their corresponding offspring were placed in an enriched environment (designated as Control + EE group) or a nor- mal environment (designated as Control group) at the same ages.The spatial learning and memory ability of the mice was assessed by Morris water maze at the age of 2 months.The mRNA levels of NF-kB,NLRP3 and GAP-43 in the hippocampus were detected by real-time fluorescence quantitative PCR , and the protein levels of NLRP3 and GAP-43 in the hippocampus were detected by Western blot.Results Compared with Control group,the swimming distance increased (P<0. 01) ,and the percentage of swimming distance in target quadrant decreased (P<0. 01) in OSAHS group.The level of NF - κB mRNA,NLRP3 mRNA and protein in the hippocampus was increased,and the level of GAP-43 mRNA and protein was decreased (P<0. 01) .Compared with the Control group,there were no significant differences in swimming distance,percentage of swimming distance,NF-κB mRNA,NLRP3 mRNA and protein content in the OSAHS + EE group.Conclusion OSAHS during pregnancy impairs the learning and memory ability of offspring mice and reduces the level of GAP-43 protein.The mechanism may be related to the in- crease of NF-κB / NLRP3 level,and environmental enrichment can improve the damage.