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. 2025 Apr 8;15(1):11987.
doi: 10.1038/s41598-025-97096-y.

Tertiary butylhydroquinone regulates oxidative stress in spleen injury induced by gas explosion via the Nrf2/HO-1 signaling pathway

Jing Ma  1   2 , Junhe Zhang  3   4 , Lingling Xi  1   2 , Junxing Qu  1   2 , Shuangping Ma  1   2 , Sanqiao Yao  5 , Jie Liu  6 , Wenjie Ren  7   8
Affiliations

Tertiary butylhydroquinone regulates oxidative stress in spleen injury induced by gas explosion via the Nrf2/HO-1 signaling pathway

Jing Ma et al. Sci Rep. .

Abstract

Gas explosion is a recurrent event in coal mining that cause severe spleen damage. This study aimed to investigate the role and mechanism of oxidative stress in gas explosion-induced spleen injury. 120 male Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats were randomly divided into a control group (NC), a gas explosion-induced spleen injury model group (Model), an Nrf2 inhibitor group (Model + ATRA), and an Nrf2 induction group (Model + TBHQ). After explosion, the rats of the inhibitor group and induction group were immediately given intraperitoneal injection of all-trans-retinoicacid (ATRA, 5 mg/kg) or tertiary butylhydro-quinone (TBHQ, 1 mg/kg) once. Then, the rats were anesthetized with blood taken from the abdominal aorta at 24 h, 72 h and 7 days. The results showed that gas explosion reduced the spleen index. The expression of oxidative stress-related genes and proteins Nrf2, HO-1, COX2 and GPX4 were increased significantly (P < 0.05) after gas explosion. Compared with the model group, TBHQ improved the spleen index, and reduced inflammation. Moreover, the expression of inflammatory factor IL-6 and ROS was decreased (P < 0.05), HMOX1 and the expression of oxidative stress-related genes and proteins were increased (P < 0.05), but the opposite results were observed in the inhibitor group. Taken together, we firstly found that TBHQ may regulate the degree of oxidative stress in spleen injury induced by gas explosion through the Nrf2/HO-1 signaling pathway.

Keywords: Gas explosion; Oxidative stress; Spleen injury; Tertiary butylhydroquinone (TBHQ).

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Conflict of interest statement

Declarations. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests. Ethical approval: This study was performed in strict accordance with the recommendations in the Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals of the National Institutes of Health (Bethesda, MD, USA). Eighth Edition, 2010. The animal use protocol has been reviewed and approved by the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) of Xinxiang Medical University (XYLL-20220077).

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Effects of oxidative stress on spleen index after gas explosion in rats. The change of spleen index after gas explosion at the 24 h, 72 h and 7 day.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Effects of gas explosion on spleen damage in rats. (A) HE staining results on spleen structure in each group (HE×100). The yellow arrow indicated vacuoles formed by gas explosion; (B) The quantitative analysis of white pulp. *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01.
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Effects of gas explosion on spleen inflammatory and injury factors in rats. The levels of the inflammatory factors IL-6 and IL-10 and the injury factors ROS and HMOX1 in the rat spleen were determined by ELISA. * P < 0.05, **P < 0.01.
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
Expression changes of genes and proteins related to oxidative stress pathways. (A, B) The expression changes of genes by qPCR; (C, D) The expression changes of proteins by Western blot. * P < 0.05, **P < 0.01.
Fig. 5
Fig. 5
Layout of large-scale real tunnel test system. (1) Tunnel entrance; (2) Auxiliary section; (3) Protective section; (4) Hydraulic explosion-proof door; (5) Detonating chamber; (6) Valve circulation system; (7) Ignition system; (8) Flat tunnel; (9) Comprehensive explosion test system; (10) Ceiling box; 11. Inclined tunnel; 12. Tunnel exit.
Fig. 6
Fig. 6
A timeline of specific experimental design for the animals.
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