• Jian Mao, Haorun Huang, Fan Liu, Yiying Mai, Xixian Liao, Binghui Qiu, Fen Mei, and Yun Bao.
• Department of Neurosurgery, Nanfang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou City, China.
• World Neurosurg. 2022 Jan 1; 157: e417-e423.

ObjectiveThe purpose of the present study was to investigate the mechanism of pituitary fibrosis in elderly people.MethodsFirst, 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.ResultsFibrosis 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.ConclusionsPituitary 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.Copyright © 2021 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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