Activation of Age-Related Nuclear Factor-κB Signaling Pathway Leads to Chronic Inflammation and Pituitary Fibrosis

Objective: The purpose of the present study was to investigate the mechanism of pituitary fibrosis in elderly people.

Methods: First, 20 pituitary glands obtained from 11 elderly people and 9 young people were studied using Masson's trichrome staining for fibrosis detection. Second, pituitary glands from 12 male rats, including 6 aged rats (OM group) and 6 young rats (YM group), were also studied. Western blotting was performed to detect collagen 1 and phosphorylation of the nuclear factor (NF)-κB subunit p65 in the OM and YM groups. The levels of 8 proinflammatory cytokines (interleukin [IL]-1α, IL-1β, IL-2, IL-4, IL-6, IL-8, interferon-γ, and tumor necrosis factor-α) in the rat pituitary glands were detected using liquid suspension chip technology. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays were performed to detect the growth hormone (GH) levels in the venous blood samples from the rats. Next, 12 aged rats were randomly divided into 2 groups: the QNZ (Q)+OM and normal physiological saline (N)+OM groups. The Q+OM and N+OM groups had undergone intervention by intraperitoneally injection of QNZ and physiological saline (1 mg/kg) for 28 days, respectively. Finally, biochemical and histological examinations were performed, including Masson's trichrome staining for fibrosis, Western blotting for phosphorylation of p65, Millipore multiplex bead arrays (Millipore, Billerica, Massachusetts, USA) for proinflammatory cytokine levels, and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays for GH secretion.

Results: Fibrosis was detected in the elderly patient group. Collagen 1, phosphorylation of the NF-κB signaling pathway, and the proinflammatory cytokine levels showed a significant increase in the OM group. Compared with the N+OM group, pituitary fibrosis was alleviated in the Q+OM group, with an increase in GH secretion and decreased proinflammatory cytokine levels and NF-κB.

Conclusions: Pituitary fibrosis was found in the elderly group, and the pathological change was antagonized by decreasing the proinflammatory cytokine levels using QNZ and further increasing GH secretion.