The action mechanism by which C1q/tumor necrosis factor-related protein-6 alleviates cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury in diabetic mice

Studies have shown that C1q/tumor necrosis factor-related protein-6 (CTRP6) can alleviate renal ischemia/reperfusion injury in mice. However, its role in the brain remains poorly understood. To investigate the role of CTRP6 in cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury associated with diabetes mellitus, a diabetes mellitus mouse model of cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury was established by occlusion of the middle cerebral artery. To overexpress CTRP6 in the brain, an adeno-associated virus carrying CTRP6 was injected into the lateral ventricle. The result was that oxygen injury and inflammation in brain tissue were clearly attenuated, and the number of neurons was greatly reduced. In vitro experiments showed that CTRP6 knockout exacerbated oxidative damage, inflammatory reaction, and apoptosis in cerebral cortical neurons in high glucose hypoxia-simulated diabetic cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury. CTRP6 overexpression enhanced the sirtuin-1 signaling pathway in diabetic brains after ischemia/reperfusion injury. To investigate the mechanism underlying these effects, we examined mice with depletion of brain tissue-specific sirtuin-1. CTRP6-like protection was achieved by activating the sirtuin-1 signaling pathway. Taken together, these results indicate that CTRP6 likely attenuates cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury through activation of the sirtuin-1 signaling pathway.

A matrix metalloproteinase-responsive hydrogel system controls angiogenic peptide release for repair of cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury

Vascular endothelial growth factor and its mimic peptide KLTWQELYQLKYKGI(QK)are widely used as the most potent angiogenic factors for the treatment of multiple ischemic diseases.However,conventional topical drug delivery often results in a burst release of the drug,leading to transient retention(inefficacy)and undesirable diffusion(toxicity)in vivo.Therefore,a drug delivery system that responds to changes in the microenvironment of tissue regeneration and controls vascular endothelial growth factor release is crucial to improve the treatment of ischemic stroke.Matrix metalloproteinase-2(MMP-2)is gradually upregulated after cerebral ischemia.Herein,vascular endothelial growth factor mimic peptide QK was self-assembled with MMP-2-cleaved peptide PLGLAG(TIMP)and customizable peptide amphiphilic(PA)molecules to construct nanofiber hydrogel PA-TIMP-QK.PA-TIMP-QK was found to control the delivery of QK by MMP-2 upregulation after cerebral ischemia/reperfusion and had a similar biological activity with vascular endothelial growth factor in vitro.The results indicated that PA-TIMP-QK promoted neuronal survival,restored local blood circulation,reduced blood-brain barrier permeability,and restored motor function.These findings suggest that the self-assembling nanofiber hydrogel PA-TIMP-QK may provide an intelligent drug delivery system that responds to the microenvironment and promotes regeneration and repair after cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury.

Treatment with β-sitosterol ameliorates the effects of cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury by suppressing cholesterol overload, endoplasmic reticulum stress, and apoptosis

β-Sitosterol is a type of phytosterol that occurs naturally in plants.Previous studies have shown that it has anti-oxidant,anti-hyperlipidemic,anti-inflammatory,immunomodulatory,and anti-tumor effects,but it is unknown whetherβ-sitosterol treatment reduces the effects of ischemic stroke.Here we found that,in a mouse model of ischemic stroke induced by middle cerebral artery occlusion,β-sitosterol reduced the volume of cerebral infarction and brain edema,reduced neuronal apoptosis in brain tissue,and alleviated neurological dysfunction;moreover,β-sitosterol increased the activity of oxygen-and glucose-deprived cerebral cortex neurons and reduced apoptosis.Further investigation showed that the neuroprotective effects ofβ-sitosterol may be related to inhibition of endoplasmic reticulum stress caused by intracellular cholesterol accumulation after ischemic stroke.In addition,β-sitosterol showed high affinity for NPC1L1,a key transporter of cholesterol,and antagonized its activity.In conclusion,β-sitosterol may help treat ischemic stroke by inhibiting neuronal intracellular cholesterol overload/endoplasmic reticulum stress/apoptosis signaling pathways.

Selective ischemic-hemisphere targeting Ginkgolide B liposomes with improved solubility and therapeutic efficacy for cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury

Cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury(CI/RI)remains the main cause of disability and death in stroke patients due to lack of effective therapeutic strategies.One of the main issues related to CI/RI treatment is the presence of the blood-brain barrier(BBB),which affects the intracerebral delivery of drugs.Ginkgolide B(GB),a major bioactive component in commercially available products of Ginkgo biloba,has been shown significance in CI/RI treatment by regulating inflammatory pathways,oxidative damage,and metabolic disturbance,and seems to be a candidate for stroke recovery.However,limited by its poor hydrophilicity and lipophilicity,the development of GB preparations with good solubility,stability,and the ability to cross the BBB remains a challenge.Herein,we propose a combinatorial strategy by conjugating GB with highly lipophilic docosahexaenoic acid(DHA)to obtain a covalent complex GB-DHA,which can not only enhance the pharmacological effect of GB,but can also be encapsulated in liposomes stably.The amount of finally constructed Lipo@GB-DHA targeting to ischemic hemisphere was validated 2.2 times that of free solution in middle cerebral artery occlusion(MCAO)rats.Compared to the marketed ginkgolide injection,Lipo@GB-DHA significantly reduced infarct volume with better neurobehavioral recovery in MCAO rats after being intravenously administered both at 2 h and 6 h post-reperfusion.Low levels of reactive oxygen species(ROS)and high neuron survival in vitro was maintained via Lipo@GB-DHA treatment,while microglia in the ischemic brain were polarized from the pro-inflammatory M1 phenotype to the tissue-repairing M2 phenotype,which modulate neuroinflammatory and angiogenesis.In addition,Lipo@GB-DHA inhibited neuronal apoptosis via regulating the apoptotic pathway and maintained homeostasis by activating the autophagy pathway.Thus,transforming GB into a lipophilic complex and loading it into liposomes provides a promising nanomedicine strategy with excellent CI/RI therapeutic efficacy and industrialization prospects.

A molecular probe carrying anti-tropomyosin 4 for early diagnosis of cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury

In vivo imaging of cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury remains an important challenge.We injected porous Ag/Au@SiO_(2) bimetallic hollow nanoshells carrying anti-tropomyosin 4 as a molecular probe into mice with cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury and observed microvascular changes in the brain using photoacoustic imaging with ultrasonography.At each measured time point,the total photoacoustic signal was significantly higher on the affected side than on the healthy side.Twelve hours after reperfusion,cerebral perfusion on the affected side increased,cerebrovascular injury worsened,and anti-tropomyosin 4 expression increased.Twenty-four hours after reperfusion and later,perfusion on the affected side declined slowly and stabilized after 1 week;brain injury was also alleviated.Histopathological and immunohistochemical examinations confirmed the brain injury tissue changes.The nanoshell molecular probe carrying anti-tropomyosin 4 has potential for use in early diagnosis of cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury and evaluating its progression.

Upregulation of CDGSH iron sulfur domain 2 attenuates cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury

CDGSH iron sulfur domain 2 can inhibit ferroptosis,which has been associated with cerebral ischemia/reperfusion,in individuals with head and neck cancer.Therefore,CDGSH iron sulfur domain 2 may be implicated in cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury.To validate this hypothesis in the present study,we established mouse models of occlusion of the middle cerebral artery and HT22 cell models of oxygen-glucose deprivation and reoxygenation to mimic cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury in vivo and in vitro,respectively.We found remarkably decreased CDGSH iron sulfur domain 2 expression in the mouse brain tissue and HT22 cells.When we used adeno-associated virus and plasmid to up-regulate CDGSH iron sulfur domain 2 expression in the brain tissue and HT22 cell models separately,mouse neurological dysfunction was greatly improved;the cerebral infarct volume was reduced;the survival rate of HT22 cells was increased;HT22 cell injury was alleviated;the expression of ferroptosis-related glutathione peroxidase 4,cystine-glutamate antiporter,and glutathione was increased;the levels of malondialdehyde,iron ions,and the expression of transferrin receptor 1 were decreased;and the expression of nuclear-factor E2-related factor 2/heme oxygenase 1 was increased.Inhibition of CDGSH iron sulfur domain 2 upregulation via the nuclear-factor E2-related factor 2 inhibitor ML385 in oxygen-glucose deprived and reoxygenated HT22 cells blocked the neuroprotective effects of CDGSH iron sulfur domain 2 up-regulation and the activation of the nuclear-factor E2-related factor 2/heme oxygenase 1 pathway.Our data indicate that the up-regulation of CDGSH iron sulfur domain 2 can attenuate cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury,thus providing theoretical support from the perspectives of cytology and experimental zoology for the use of this protein as a therapeutic target in patients with cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury.

Atorvastatin Alleviates Myocardial Ischemia-Reperfusion Injury via miR-26a-5p/FOXO1

Purpose: Ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) injury exacerbates myocardial cell death (including apoptosis and necrosis), leading to complications such as arrhythmias, myocardial stenosis, microvascular obstruction and heart failure, and it is particularly important to seek new strategies to mitigate reperfusion injury. In this paper, we will investigate whether atorvastatin can alleviate myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury and verify its molecular mechanism. Methods: We successfully constructed a hypoxia-reperfusion (H/R) H9c2 cell model and transfected miR-26a-5p mimic, miR-26a-5p inhibitor and its negative control NC-mimic or NC-inhibitor into H9c2 cells using a transfection kit. The expression of miR-26a-5p and FOXO1 were detected by RT-qPCR assay, the expression of related proteins by Western blot assay, the cell viability of H9c2 cells by CCK-8 assay, the apoptosis rate of H9c2 cells by flow cytometry, the CK and LDH activity in cells by CK and LDH assay kits. The targeting relationship between miR-26a-5p and FOXO1 was verified by dual luciferase reporter gene assay. Results: MiR-26a-5p expression was decreased in H/R-induced cells and FOXO1 expression was increased in H/R-induced cells. Atorvastatin alleviated H/R injury in cardiomyocytes and was most effective at a concentration of 1 μM. Atorvastatin alleviated H/R injury in cardiomyocytes by upregulating miR-26a-5p expression, miR-26a-5p and FOXO1 were negatively regulated by targeting. Conclusion: Atorvastatin can alleviate H/R injury in cardiomyocytes by regulating miR-26a-5p/FOXO1.

Ischemic accumulation of succinate induces Cdc42 succinylation and inhibits neural stem cell proliferation after cerebral ischemia/reperfusion

Ischemic accumulation of succinate causes cerebral damage by excess production of reactive oxygen species. However, it is unknown whether ischemic accumulation of succinate affects neural stem cell proliferation. In this study, we established a rat model of cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury by occlusion of the middle cerebral artery. We found that succinate levels increased in serum and brain tissue(cortex and hippocampus) after ischemia/reperfusion injury. Oxygen-glucose deprivation and reoxygenation stimulated primary neural stem cells to produce abundant succinate. Succinate can be converted into diethyl succinate in cells. Exogenous diethyl succinate inhibited the proliferation of mouse-derived C17.2 neural stem cells and increased the infarct volume in the rat model of cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury. Exogenous diethyl succinate also increased the succinylation of the Rho family GTPase Cdc42 but repressed Cdc42 GTPase activity in C17.2 cells. Increasing Cdc42 succinylation by knockdown of the desuccinylase Sirt5 also inhibited Cdc42 GTPase activity in C17.2 cells. Our findings suggest that ischemic accumulation of succinate decreases Cdc42 GTPase activity by induction of Cdc42 succinylation, which inhibits the proliferation of neural stem cells and aggravates cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury.

Ligustrazine monomer against cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury

Ligustrazine （2,3,5,6-tetramethylpyrazine） is a major active ingredient of the Szechwan lovage rhizome and is extensively used in treatment of ischemic cerebrovascular disease. The mecha- nism of action of ligustrazine use against ischemic cerebrovascular diseases remains unclear at present. This study summarizes its protective effect, the optimum time window of administra- tion, and the most effective mode of administration for clinical treatment of cerebral ischemia/ reperfusion injury. We examine the effects of ligustrazine on suppressing excitatory amino acid release, promoting migration, differentiation and proliferation of endogenous neural stem cells. We also looked at its effects on angiogenesis and how it inhibits thrombosis, the inflammatory response, and apoptosis after cerebral ischemia. We consider that ligustrazine gives noticeable protection from cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury. The time window of ligustrazine admin- istration is limited. The protective effect and time window of a series of derivative monomers of ligustrazine such as 2-[（1,1-dimethylethyl）oxidoimino]methyl]-3,5,6-trimethylpyrazine, CXC137 and CXC 195 after cerebral ischemia were better than ligustrazine.

Autophagy: novel insights into therapeutic target of electroacupuncture against cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury

Electroacupuncture is known as an effective adjuvant therapy in ischemic cerebrovascular disease. However, its underlying mechanisms remain unclear. Studies suggest that autophagy, which is essential for cell survival and cell death, is involved in cerebral ischemia reperfusion injury and might be modulate by electroacupuncture therapy in key ways. This paper aims to provide novel insights into a therapeutic target of electroacupuncture against cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury from the perspective of autophagy. Here we review recent studies on electroacupuncture regulation of autophagy-related markers such as UNC-51-like kinase-1 complex, Beclin1, microtubule-associated protein-1 light chain 3, p62, and autophagosomes for treating cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury. The results of these studies show that electroacupuncture may affect the initiation of autophagy, vesicle nucleation, expansion and maturation of autophagosomes, as well as fusion and degradation of autophagolysosomes. Moreover, studies indicate that electroacupuncture probably modulates autophagy by activating the mammalian target of the rapamycin signaling pathway.This review thus indicates that autophagy is a therapeutic target of electroacupuncture treatment against ischemic cerebrovascular diseases.

Atorvastatin protects against cerebral ischemia/ reperfusion injury through anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects

In addition to its lipid-lowering effect, atorvastatin exerts anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects as well. In this study, we hypothesized that atorvastatin could protect against cerebral isch-emia/reperfusion injury. The middle cerebral artery ischemia/reperfusion model was established, and atorvastatin, 6.5 mg/kg, was administered by gavage. We found that, after cerebral ischemia/ reperfusion injury, levels of the inflammation-related factors E-selectin and myeloperoxidase were upregulated, the oxidative stress-related marker malondialdehyde was increased, and super- oxide dismutase activity was decreased in the ischemic cerebral cortex. Atorvastatin pretreatment significantly inhibited these changes. Our findings indicate that atorvastatin protects against ce-rebral ischemia/reperfusion injury through anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects.

Puerarin protects brain tissue against cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury by inhibiting the inflammatory response

Puerarin, a traditional Chinese medicine, exerts a powerful neuroprotective effect in cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury, but its mechanism is unknown. Here, we established rat models of middle cerebral artery ischemia/reperfusion injury using the suture method. Puerarin （100 mg/kg） was administered intraperitoneally 30 minutes before middle cerebral artery occlusion and 8 hours after reperfusion. Twenty-four hours after reperfusion, we found that puerarin significantly improved neurological deficit, reduced infarct size and brain water content, and notably diminished the expression of Toll-like receptor-4, myeloid differentiation factor 88, nuclear factor kappa B and tumor necrosis factor-α in the ischemic region. These data indicate that puerarin exerts an anti-inflammatory protective effect on brain tissue with ischemia/reperfusion damage by downregulating the expression of multiple inflammatory factors.

Calpain system and its involvement in myocardial ischemia and reperfusion injury

Calpains are ubiquitous non-lysosomal Ca2+-dependent cysteine proteases also present in myocardial cytosol and mitochondria.Numerous experimental studies reveal an essential role of the calpain system in myocardial injury during ischemia,reperfusion and postischemic structural remodelling.The increasing Ca2+-content and Ca2+-overload in myocardial cytosol and mitochondria during ischemia and reperfusion causes an activation of calpains.Upon activation they are able to injure the contractile apparatus and impair the energy production by cleaving structural and functional proteins of myocytes and mitochondria.Besides their causal involvement in acute myocardial dysfunction they are also involved in structural remodelling after myocardial infarction by the generation and release of proapoptotic factors from mitochondria.Calpain inhibition can prevent or attenuate myocardial injury during ischemia,reperfusion,and in later stages of myocardial infarction.

Neuroprotection of Cyperus esculentus L. orientin against cerebral ischemia/reperfusion induced brain injury

Orientin is a flavonoid monomer.In recent years,its importance as a source of pharmacological active substance is growing rapidly due to its properties such as anti-myocardial ischemia,anti-apoptosis,anti-radiation,anti-tumor,and anti-aging.However,the neuroprotective effects of Orientin on stroke injury have not been comprehensively evaluated.The aim of the present study was thus to investigate the neuroprotective capacity and the potential mechanisms of Cyperus esculentus L.orientin(CLO)from Cyperus esculentus L.leaves against ischemia/reperfusion(I/R)injury using standard orientin as control.For in vitro studies,we treated HT22 cells with CoCl2 as an in vitro ischemic injury model.HT22 cells in the control group were treated with CoCl2.For in vivo studies,we used rat models of middle cerebral artery occlusion,and animals that received sham surgery were used as controls.We found that CLO protected CoCl2-induced HT22 cells against ischemia/reperfusion injury by lowering lipid peroxidation and reactive oxygen species formation as well as decreasing protein oxidation.However,CLO did not reduce the release of lactate dehydrogenase nor increase the activity of superoxide dismutase.Results showed that CLO could decrease neurological deficit score,attenuate brain water content,and reduce cerebral infarct volume,leading to neuroprotection during cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury.Our studies indicate that CLO flavonoids can be taken as a natural antioxidant and bacteriostastic substance in food and pharmaceutical industry.The molecular mechanisms of CLO could be at least partially attributed to the antioxidant properties and subsequently inhibiting activation of casepase-3.All experimental procedures and protocols were approved on May 16,2016 by the Experimental Animal Ethics Committee of Xinjiang Medical University of China(approval No.IACUC20160516-57).

Electroacupuncture reduces apoptotic index and inhibits p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase signaling pathway in the hippocampus of rats with cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury

Electroacupuncture attenuates cerebral hypoxia and neuronal apoptosis induced by cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury.To further identify the involved mechanisms,we assumed that electroacupuncture used to treat cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury was associated with the p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase（MAPK） signaling pathway.We established rat models of cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury using the modified Zea-Longa＇s method.At 30 minutes before model establishment,p38 MAPK blocker SB20358 was injected into the left lateral ventricles.At 1.5 hours after model establishment,electroacupuncture was administered at acupoints of Chize（LU5）,Hegu（LI4）,Zusanli（ST36）,and Sanyinjiao（SP6） for 20 minutes in the affected side.Results showed that the combination of EA and SB20358 injection significantly decreased neurologic impairment scores,but no significant differences were determined among different interventional groups.Hematoxylin-eosin staining also showed reduced brain tissue injuries.Compared with the SB20358 group,the cells were regularly arranged,the structures were complete,and the number of viable neurons was higher in the SB20358 ＋ electroacupuncture group.Terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase（Td T）-mediated d UTP nick-end labeling assay showed a decreased apoptotic index in each group,with a significant decrease in the SB20358 ＋ electroacupuncture group.Immunohistochemistry revealed reduced phosphorylated p38 expression at 3 days in the electroacupuncture group and SB20358 ＋ electroacupuncture group compared with the ischemia/reperfusion group.There was no significant difference in phosphorylated p38 expression between the ischemia/reperfusion group and SB20358 group.These findings confirmed that the electroacupuncture effects on mitigating cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury are possibly associated with the p38 MAPK signaling pathway.A time period of 3 days could promote the repair of ischemic cerebral nerves.

Picroside Ⅱ down-regulates matrix metalloproteinase-9 expression following cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury in rats

Studies have shown that Picroside Ⅱ attenuates inflammatory reactions following brain ischemia through the inhibition of the TLR-4-NF-KB signal transduction pathway, and ameliorates cerebral edema through the reduction of aquaporin-4 expression. Matrix metalloproteinase-9 （MMP-9）, located downstream of the TLR-4-NF-KB signal transduction pathway, can degrade the neurovascular matrix, damage the blood-brain barrier to induce cerebral edema, and directly result in neuronal apoptosis and brain injury, Therefore, the present study further observed MMP-9 expression in the brain tissues of rats with cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury following Picroside Ⅱ treatment. Results demonstrated that Picroside Ⅱ significantly reduced MMP-9 expression in ischemic brain tissues, as well as neuronal apoptosis and brain infarct volume, suggesting Picroside Ⅱ exhibits neuroprotection by down-regulating MMP-9 expression and inhibiting cell apoptosis.

Electroacupuncture preconditioning protects against focal cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury via suppression of dynamin-related protein 1

Electroacupuncture preconditioning at acupoint Baihui （GV20） can reduce focal cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury. However, the precise protective mechanism remains unknown. Mitochondrial fission mediated by dynamin-related protein 1 （Drp1） can trigger neuronal apoptosis following cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury. Herein, we examined the hypothesis that electroacupuncture pretreatment can regulate Drp1, and thus inhibit mitochondrial fission to provide cerebral protection. Rat models of focal cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury were established by middle cerebral artery occlusion at 24 hours after 5 consecutive days of preconditioning with electroacupuncture at GV20 （depth 2 mm, intensity 1 mA, frequency 2/15 Hz, for 30 minutes, once a day）. Neurological function was assessed using the Longa neurological deficit score. Pathological changes in the ischemic penumbra on the injury side were assessed by hematoxylin-eosin staining. Cellular apoptosis in the ischemic penumbra on the injury side was assessed by terminal deoxyribonucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP-digoxigenin nick end labeling staining. Mitochondrial ultrastructure in the ischemic penumbra on the injury side was assessed by transmission electron microscopy. Drp1 and cytochrome c expression in the ischemic penumbra on the injury side were assessed by western blot assay. Results showed that electroacupuncture preconditioning decreased expression of total and mitochondrial Drp1, decreased expression of total and cytosolic cytochrome c, maintained mitochondrial morphology and reduced the proportion of apoptotic cells in the ischemic penumbra on the injury side, with associated improvements in neurological function. These data suggest that electroacupuncture preconditioning-induced neuronal protection involves inhibition of the expression and translocation of Drp1.

Comparison of the anti-apoptotic effects of 15-and 35-minute suspended moxibustion after focal cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury

Heat-sensitive suspended moxibustion has a neuroprotective effect against focal cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury, but the underly- ing mechanisms remain unclear. The duration of heat-sensitive suspended moxibustion （usually from 30 minutes to 1 hour） is longer than traditional suspended moxibustion （usually 15 minutes）. However, the effects of 15- and 35-minute suspended moxibustion in rats with cerebra/ischemia/reperfusion injury are poorly understood. In this study, we performed 15- or 35-minute suspended moxibustion at acupoint Dazhui （GV14） in an adult rat model of focal cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury. Infarct volume was evaluated with the 2,3,5-triphenyltetrazolium chloride assay. Histopathological changes and neuronal apoptosis at the injury site were assessed by hematoxy- lin-eosin staining and terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick end labeling assay. Caspase-9 and caspase-3 expression at the in- jury site was detected using immunofluorescent staining. Bax and Bcl-2 expression at the injury site was assessed using western blot assay. In the 35-minute moxibustion group, infarct volume was decreased, neuronal apoptosis was reduced, caspase-9, caspase-3 and Bax expres- sion was lower, and Bcl-2 expression was increased, compared with the 15-minute moxibustion group. Our findings show that 35-minute moxibustion has a greater anti-apoptotic effect than 15-minute moxibustion after focal cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury.

Potential targets for protecting against hippocampal cell apoptosis after transient cerebral ischemiareperfusion injury in aged rats

Mitochondria play an important role in neuronal apoptosis caused by cerebral ischemia, and the role is mediated by the expression of mitochondrial proteins. This study investigated the involvement of mitochondrial proteins in hippocampal cell apoptosis after transient cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury in aged rats using a comparative proteomics strategy. Our exper-imental results show that the aged rat brain is sensitive to ischemia-reperfusion injury and that transient ischemia led to cell apoptosis in the hippocampus and changes in memory and cognition of aged rats. Differential proteomics analysis suggested that this phenomenon may be mediated by mitochondrial proteins associated with energy metabolism and apoptosis in aged rats. This study provides potential drug targets for the treatment of transient cerebral isch-emia-reperfusion injury.

GPER agonist G1 suppresses neuronal apoptosis mediated by endoplasmic reticulum stress after cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury

Studies have confirmed a strong association between activation of the endoplasmic reticulum stress pathway and cerebral ischemia/reperfusion(I/R) injury.In this study,three key proteins in the endoplasmic reticulum stress pathway(glucose-regulated protein 78,caspase-12,and C/EBP homologous protein) were selected to examine the potential mechanism of endoplasmic reticulum stress in the neuroprotective effect of G protein-coupled estrogen receptor.Female Sprague-Dawley rats received ovariectomy(OVX),and then cerebral I/R rat models(OVX+ I/R) were established by middle cerebral artery occlusion.Immediately after I/R,rat models were injected with 100 μg/kg E2(OVX + I/R +E2),or 100 μg/kg G protein-coupled estrogen receptor agonist G1(OVX + I/R + G1) in the lateral ventricle.Longa scoring was used to detect neurobehavioral changes in each group.Infarct volumes were measured by 2,3,5-triphenyltetrazolium chloride staining.Morphological changes in neurons were observed by Nissl staining.Terminal dexynucleotidyl transferase-mediated nick end-labeling staining revealed that compared with the OVX + I/R group,neurological function was remarkably improved,infarct volume was reduced,number of normal Nissl bodies was dramatically increased,and number of apoptotic neurons in the hippocampus was decreased after E2 and G1 intervention.To detect the expression and distribution of endoplasmic reticulum stress-related proteins in the endoplasmic reticulum,caspase-12 distribution and expression were detected by immunofluorescence,and mRNA and protein levels of glucose-regulated protein 78,caspase-12,and C/EBP homologous protein were determined by polymerase chain reaction and western blot assay.The results showed that compared with the OVX+ I/R group,E2 and G1 treatment obviously decreased mRNA and protein expression levels of glucose-regulated protein 78,C/EBP homologous protein,and caspase-12.However,the G protein-coupled estrogen receptor antagonist G15(OVX + I/R + E2 + G15) could eliminate the effect of E2 on cerebral I/R injury.These results confirm that E2 and G protein-coupled estrogen receptor can inhibit the expression of endoplasmic reticulum stress-related proteins and neuronal apoptosis in the hippocampus,thereby improving dysfunction caused by cerebral I/R injury.Every experimental protocol was approved by the Institutional Ethics Review Board at the First Affiliated Hospital of Shihezi University School of Medicine,China(approval No.SHZ A2017-171) on February 27,2017.