Melatonin Exerts an Anti‐Panoptoic Role in Spinal Cord Ischemia‐Reperfusion Injured Rats

Paraplegia is a serious consequence of spinal cord ischemia-reperfusion (SCIR) injury, which leads to neuron death and permanent loss of motor function. However, there is no effective treatment for SCIR. Melatonin exerts a neuroprotective effect in neurodegenerative diseases. However, whether pyroptosis, apoptosis, and necroptosis (PANoptosis) is the primary cause of the massive neural death in SCIR is unknown, and if melatonin exhibits anti-PANoptotic effect in rescuing the disastrous damage is to be decided. This study indicates that melatonin confers neuroprotection in SCIR, attenuating the loss of Nissl body and improving Basso, Beattie & Bresnahan locomotor rating scale scores. Specifically, the apoptotic hallmarks in neurons are increased in SCIR injured spinal cord compared to the sham group. The upregulated trend is reversed by melatonin while the effect of melatonin is abolished by the administration of luzindole, a selective melatonin receptor antagonist. Moreover, similar patterns are found in the necroptotic markers in neurons, the pyroptotic indicators, and the interleukin-1β staining in microglia. In conclusion, PANoptosis may underlie the mass neural death and paraplegia in SCIR, and melatonin confers neuroprotection to the spinal cord via inhibiting PANoptosis.