Project description:Cerebral ischaemia is the most common cause of impaired brain function. Biologically active peptides represent potential drugs for reducing the damage that occurs after ischaemia. The synthetic melanocortin derivative, ACTH(4-7)PGP (Semax), has been used successfully in the treatment of patients with severe impairment of cerebral blood circulation. However, its molecular mechanisms of action within the brain are not yet fully understood. Previously, we used the transient middle cerebral artery occlusion (tMCAO) model to study the damaging effects of ischaemia-reperfusion on the brain transcriptome in rats. Here, using RNA-Seq analysis, we investigated the protective properties of the Semax peptide at the transcriptome level under tMCAO conditions. We have identified 394 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) (>1.5-fold change) in the brains of rats at 24 h after tMCAO treated with Semax relative to saline. Following tMCAO, we found that Semax suppressed the expression of genes related to inflammatory processes and activated the expression of genes related to neurotransmission. In contrast, ischaemia-reperfusion alone activated the expression of inflammation-related genes and suppressed the expression of neurotransmission-related genes. Therefore, the neuroprotective action of Semax may be associated with a compensation of mRNA expression patterns that are disrupted during ischaemia-reperfusion conditions.
Project description:Emerging studies have shown that long noncoding RNA (lncRNA) TUG1 (taurine-up-regulated gene 1) plays critical roles in multiple biological processes. However, the expression and function of lncRNA TUG1 in cerebral ischaemia/reperfusion injury have not been reported yet. In this study, we found that LncRNA TUG1 expression was significantly up-regulated in cultured MA-C cells exposed to OGD/R injury, while similar results were also observed in MCAO model. Mechanistically, knockdown of TUG1 decreased lactate dehydrogenase levels and the ratio of apoptotic cells and promoted cell survival in vitro. Moreover, knockdown of TUG1 decreased AQP4 (encoding aquaporin 4) expression to attenuate OGD/R injury. TUG1 could interact directly with miR-145, and down-regulation of miR-145 could efficiently reverse the function of TUG1 siRNA on AQP4 expression. Finally, the TUG1 shRNA reduced the infarction area and cell apoptosis in I/R mouse brains in vivo. In summary, our results suggested that lncRNA TUG1 may function as a competing endogenous RNA (ceRNA) for miR-145 to induce cell damage, possibly providing a new therapeutic target in cerebral ischaemia/reperfusion injury.
Project description:BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE:Cerebral ischaemia/reperfusion causes exacerbated neuronal damage involving excessive autophagy and neuronal loss. The present study was designed to investigate the effect of icariside II, one of main active ingredients of Herba Epimedii on this loss and whether this is related to its PDE 5 inhibitory action. EXPERIMENTAL APPROACH:Focal cerebral ischaemia was induced in the rat by transient middle cerebral artery occlusion over 2 hr, followed by reperfusion with icariside II, 3-methylamphetamine or rapamycin. The effect of icariside II was determined measuring behaviour changes and the size of the infarction. The expressions of PDE 5, autophagy-related proteins and the level of phosphorylation of glycogen synthase kinase-3? (GSK-3?) were determined. Cultured primary cortical neurons were subjected to oxygen and glucose deprivation followed by reoxygenation in the presence and absence of icariside II. A surface plasmon resonance assay and molecular docking were used to explore the interactions of icariside II with PDE 5 or GSK-3?. KEY RESULTS:Icariside II not only protected against induced ischaemic reperfusion injury in rats but also attenuated such injury in primary cortical neurons. The neuroprotective effects of icariside II on such injury were attributed to interfering with the PKG/GSK-3?/autophagy axis by directly bounding to PDE 5 and GSK-3?. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS:These findings indicate that icariside II attenuates cerebral I/R-induced injury via interfering with PKG/GSK-3?/autophagy axis. This study raises the possibility that icariside II and other PDE 5 inhibitors maybe effective in the treatment ischaemia stroke.
Project description:Recanalization therapy by intravenous thrombolysis or endovascular therapy is critical for the treatment of cerebral infarction. However, the recanalization treatment will also exacerbate acute brain injury and even severely threatens human life due to the reperfusion injury. So far, the underlying mechanisms for cerebral ischaemia-reperfusion injury are poorly understood and effective therapeutic interventions are yet to be discovered. Therefore, in the research, we subjected SK-N-BE(2) cells to oxygen-glucose deprivation/reperfusion (OGDR) insult and performed a pooled genome-wide CRISPR (clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats)/Cas9 (CRISPR-associated protein 9) knockout screen to discover new potential therapeutic targets for cerebral ischaemia-reperfusion injury. We used Metascape to identify candidate genes which might involve in OGDR resistance. We found that the genes contributed to OGDR resistance were primarily involved in neutrophil degranulation, mitochondrial translation, and regulation of cysteine-type endopeptidase activity involved in apoptotic process and response to oxidative stress. We then knocked down some of the identified candidate genes individually. We demonstrated that MRPL19, MRPL32, MRPL52 and MRPL51 inhibition increased cell viability and attenuated OGDR-induced apoptosis. We also demonstrated that OGDR down-regulated the expression of MRPL19 and MRPL51 protein. Taken together, our data suggest that genome-scale screening with Cas9 is a reliable tool to analyse the cellular systems that respond to OGDR injury. MRPL19 and MRPL51 contribute to OGDR resistance and are supposed to be promising targets for the treatment of cerebral ischaemia-reperfusion damage.
Project description:The role of the histamine H3 receptor (H3R) in cerebral ischaemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury remains unknown. Here we show that H3R expression is upregulated after I/R in two mouse models. H3R antagonists and H3R knockout attenuate I/R injury, which is reversed by an H3R-selective agonist. Interestingly, H1R and H2R antagonists, a histidine decarboxylase (HDC) inhibitor and HDC knockout all fail to compromise the protection by H3R blockade. H3R blockade inhibits mTOR phosphorylation and reinforces autophagy. The neuroprotection by H3R antagonism is reversed by 3-methyladenine and siRNA for Atg7, and is diminished in Atg5?/? mouse embryonic fibroblasts. Furthermore, the peptide Tat-H3R(CT414-436), which blocks CLIC4 binding with H3Rs, or siRNA for CLIC4, further increases I/R-induced autophagy and protects against I/R injury. Therefore, H3R promotes I/R injury while its antagonism protects against ischaemic injury via histamine-independent mechanisms that involve suppressing H3R/CLIC4 binding-activated autophagy, suggesting that H3R inhibition is a therapeutic target for cerebral ischaemia.
Project description:<h4>Background and purpose</h4>Sinomenine (SN), a bioactive alkaloid, has been utilized clinically to treat rheumatoid arthritis in China. Our preliminary experiments indicated that it could protect PC12 cells from oxygen-glucose deprivation-reperfusion (OGD-R), we thus investigated the possible effects of SN on cerebral ischaemia and the related mechanism.<h4>Experimental approach</h4>Middle cerebral artery occlusion in rats was used as an animal model of ischaemic stroke in vivo. The mechanisms of the effects of SN were investigated in vitro using whole-cell patch-clamp recording, calcium imaging in PC12 cells and rat cortical neurons subjected to OGD-R.<h4>Key results</h4>Pretreatment with SN (10 and 30 mg·kg(-1) , i.p.) significantly decreased brain infarction and the overactivation of calcium-mediated events in rats subjected to 2 h ischaemia followed by 24 h reperfusion. Extracellular application of SN inhibited the currents mediated by acid-sensing ion channel 1a and L-type voltage-gated calcium channels, in the rat cultured neurons, in a concentration-dependent manner. These inhibitory effects contribute to the neuroprotection of SN against OGD-R and extracellular acidosis-induced cytotoxicity. More importantly, administration of SN (30 mg·kg(-1) , i.p.) at 1 and 2 h after cerebral ischaemia also decreased brain infarction and improved functional recovery.<h4>Conclusion and implications</h4>SN exerts potent protective effects against ischaemic brain injury when administered before ischaemia or even after the injury. The inhibitory effects of SN on acid-sensing ion channel 1a and L-type calcium channels are involved in this neuroprotection.
Project description:Hyperacute changes in cerebral blood flow during cerebral ischaemia and reperfusion are important determinants of injury. Cerebral blood flow is regulated by neurovascular coupling, and disruption of neurovascular coupling contributes to brain plasticity and repair problems. However, it is unknown how neurovascular coupling is affected hyperacutely during cerebral ischaemia and reperfusion. We have developed a remote middle cerebral artery occlusion model in the rat, which enables multi-modal assessment of neurovascular coupling immediately prior to, during and immediately following reperfusion. Male Wistar rats were subjected to remote middle cerebral artery occlusion, where a long filament was advanced intraluminally through a guide cannula in the common carotid artery. Transcallosal stimulation evoked increases in blood flow, tissue oxygenation and neuronal activity, which were diminished by middle cerebral artery occlusion and partially restored during reperfusion. These evoked responses were not affected by administration of the thrombolytic alteplase at clinically used doses. Evoked cerebral blood flow responses were fully restored at 24?h post-middle cerebral artery occlusion indicating that neurovascular dysfunction was not sustained. These data show for the first time that the rat remote middle cerebral artery occlusion model coupled with transcallosal stimulation provides a novel method for continuous assessment of hyperacute neurovascular coupling changes during ischaemia and reperfusion, and offers unique insight into hyperacute ischaemic pathophysiology.
Project description:Acute cerebral ischaemia may lead to serious consequences, including brain injury caused by uncontrolled reperfusion, which occurs when circulation is re-established. The long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) nuclear enriched abundant transcript 1 (NEAT1) plays an important role in the immune system. However, the potential roles and underlying molecular mechanisms of NEAT1 in cerebral ischaemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury remain unclear. The aim of the present study was to investigate the function of the lncRNA NEAT1 in cerebral I/R injury and its potential beneficial effects on neurons. In our study, oxygen-glucose deprivation (OGD)/reoxygenation (OGD/R) was induced in vitro to mimic cerebral I/R injury. Cholecystokinin-octopeptide (CCK-8) was used to measure cell viability, and flow cytometry was used to measure cell apoptosis. Real-time quantitative PCR (qRT-PCR) was used to measure the expression of phenotypic markers of classically activated (M1) and alternatively activated (M2) microglia, and western blotting was performed to detect the levels of proteins related to the AKT/STAT3 pathway. The expression of the lncRNA NEAT1 was significantly upregulated in patients with ischaemic stroke, and knockdown of the lncRNA NEAT1 alleviated OGD/R-induced apoptosis and increased neuronal viability. Furthermore, the lncRNA NEAT1 may inhibit microglial polarization towards the M1 phenotype to reduce the damage caused by OGD/R and reduce the activity of the AKT/STAT3 pathway. In conclusion, the lncRNA NEAT1 may be a potential target for new therapeutic interventions for cerebral I/R.
Project description:BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Na+/Ca2+ exchanger (NCX) inhibitors are known to attenuate myocardial reperfusion injury. However, the exact mechanisms for the cardioprotection remain unclear. The present study was undertaken to examine the mechanism underlying the cardioprotection by NCX inhibitors against ischaemia/reperfusion injury. EXPERIMENTAL APPROACH: Isolated rat hearts were subjected to 35-min ischaemia/60-min reperfusion or 20-min ischaemia/60-min reperfusion. NCX inhibitors (3-30 microM KB-R7943 (KBR) or 0.3-1 microM SEA0400 (SEA)) were given for 5 min prior to ischaemia (pre-ischaemic treatment) or for 10 min after the onset of reperfusion (post-ischaemic treatment). KEY RESULTS: With 35-min ischaemia/60-min reperfusion, pre- or post-ischaemic treatment with KBR or SEA neither enhanced post-ischaemic contractile recovery nor attenuated ischaemia- or reperfusion-induced Na+ accumulation and damage to mitochondrial respiratory function. With the milder model (20-min ischaemia/reperfusion), pre- or post-ischaemic treatment with 10 microM KBR or 1 microM SEA significantly enhanced the post-ischaemic contractile recovery, associated with reductions in reperfusion-induced Ca2+ accumulation, damage to mitochondrial function, and decrease in myocardial high-energy phosphates. Furthermore, Na+ influx to mitochondria in vitro was enhanced by increased concentrations of NaCl. KBR (10 microM) and 1 microM SEA partially decreased the Na+ influx. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: The NCX inhibitors exerted cardioprotective effects during relatively mild ischaemia. The mechanism may be attributable to prevention of mitochondrial damage, possibly mediated by attenuation of Na+ overload in cardiac mitochondria during ischaemia and/or Ca2+ overload via the reverse mode of NCX during reperfusion.