scholarly journals Danhong Injection Attenuates Cerebral Ischemia-Reperfusion Injury in Rats Through the Suppression of the Neuroinflammation

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Haixia Du ◽  
Yu He ◽  
Yuanjiang Pan ◽  
Mengdi Zhao ◽  
Zhiwei Li ◽  
...  

Neuroinflammation is one of the major causes of damage of the central nervous system (CNS) and plays a vital role in the pathogenesis of cerebral ischemia, which can result in long-term disability and neuronal death. Danhong injection (DHI), a traditional Chinese medicine injection, has been applied to the clinical treatment of cerebral stoke for many years. In this study, we investigated the protective effects of DHI on cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury (CIRI) in rats and explored its potential anti-neuroinflammatory properties. CIRI in adult male SD rats was induced by middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) for 1 h and reperfusion for 24 h. Results showed that DHI (0.5, 1, and 2 ml/kg) dose-dependently improved the neurological deficits and alleviated cerebral infarct volume and histopathological damage of the cerebral cortex caused by CIRI. Moreover, DHI (0.5, 1, and 2 ml/kg) inhibited the mRNA expressions of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin-1β (IL-1β), intercellular cell adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1), cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) in ischemic brains, downregulated TNF-α, IL-1β, and monocyte chemotactic protein-1 (MCP-1) levels in serum, and reduced the neutrophil infiltration (myeloperoxidase, MPO) in ischemic brains, in a dose-dependent manner. Immunohistochemical staining results also revealed that DHI dose-dependently diminished the protein expressions of ICAM-1 and COX-2, and suppressed the activation of microglia (ionized calcium-binding adapter molecule 1, Iba-1) and astrocyte (glial fibrillary acidic protein, GFAP) in the cerebral cortex. Western blot analysis showed that DHI significantly downregulated the phosphorylation levels of the proteins in nuclear factor κB (NF-κB) and mitogen-activated protein kinas (MAPK) signaling pathways in ischemic brains. These results indicate that DHI exerts anti-neuroinflammatory effects against CIRI, which contribute to the amelioration of CNS damage.

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 020-031
Author(s):  
Kong Fu ◽  
Miancong Chen ◽  
Hua Zheng ◽  
Chuanzi Li ◽  
Fan Yang ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Morbidity and mortality remain high for ischemic stroke victims, and at present these patients lack effective neuroprotective agents, which improve the cure rate. In recent years, studies have shown that pelargonidin has many biological actions. However, few studies are available regarding the pelargonidin treatment of cerebral ischemia. Methods The rat middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) model was established to investigate the neuroprotective effect of pelargonidin on cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury. Reperfusion was performed 2 h after ischemia; magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and 2, 3, 5-triphenyltetrazolium chloride (TTC) staining were used to measure the volume of cerebral ischemia. Both modified neurological severity scores (mNSSs) and Morris water maze test were used to assess the neurological functions. ELISA was applied to determine the levels of TNF-α, TGF-β, IL-6, IL-10, MDA, and SOD. The expression of Nuclear factor-E2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) and heme oxygenase 1 (HO-1) protein in brain tissue was measured by immunofluorescence and Western blot assays. Results The results showed that pelargonidin could effectively reduce the volume of cerebral ischemia and improve the neurological function in MCAO rats, thereby improving memory and learning ability. With the corresponding decreases in the expression of TNF-α, TGF-β, IL-6, and MDA, the level of IL-10 and SOD increased and also promoted the nuclear metastasis of Nrf2 and the expression of HO-1 in ischemic brain tissues. Conclusions Our data demonstrated that pelargonidin ameliorated neurological function deficits in MCAO rats, and its potential mechanism of action was associated with overexpression of the Nrf2/HO-1-signaling pathway. This study will provide a new approach to treat cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury.


2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 ◽  
pp. 1-7
Author(s):  
Mingming Kang ◽  
Fangchao Ji ◽  
Xingyuan Sun ◽  
Hongbin Liu ◽  
Chenxin Zhang

Ischemic stroke is a kind of disease with high mortality and high disability, which brings a huge burden to the public health system (Hu et al. (2017)), and it poses a serious threat to the quality of life of patients. Cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury is an important pathophysiological mechanism. This study aims to assess the mechanism of SNHG15 in the occurrence and development of cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury of nerve cells and to investigate its potential value for diagnosis and treatment. SNHG15 targeted miRNA molecules and target genes were predicted with bioinformatics tools such as StarBase and TargetScan. The process of ischemic reperfusion in cerebral apoplexy in normal cultured and oxygen-glucose-deprived and reoxygenated neurons was simulated with RT-PCR and western blot technique. The expressions of SNHG15 and miR-141 were detected with qPCR, and the expressions of SIRT1 and p65, TNF-α, ROS, iNOS, and IL-6 were detected with western blot. Meanwhile, SNHG15 siRNAs and miR-141 mimics were transfected for SH-SY5Y, with western blot testing. And the expressions of miR-141, SIRT1, and p65, TNF-α, ROS, iNOS, and IL-6 were tested. According to the prediction with bioinformatics tools of StarBase and TargetScan, miR-141 is the target of lncSNHG15. In the luciferase reporter plasmid double-luciferase assay, miR-141 and SIRT1 were defined as the target relationship. In the oxygen-glucose-deprived reoxygenation model group, SNHG15 expression increased, miR-141 expression decreased, SIRT1 expression increased, and the expressions of p65, TNF-α, ROS, iNOS, and IL-6 decreased. In the SNHG15-siRNA-transfected oxygen-glucose-deprived reoxygenation cell model group, miR-141 expression increased, SIRT1 expression decreased, and the expressions of p65, TNF-α, and IL-6 increased compared with the si-NC group. In the miR-141-mimic-transfected oxygen-glucose-deprived reoxygenation cell model, SNHG15 expression decreased, SIRT1 expression decreased, and the expressions of p65, TNF-α, IL-1β, and IL-6 increased. In conclusion, SNHG15 expression increased during the process of oxygen-glucose-deprived reoxygenation, and the oxidative stress process was reduced by miR-141/SIRT1.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xue-Fei Wu ◽  
Chun Li ◽  
Guang Yang ◽  
Ying-Zi Wang ◽  
Yan Peng ◽  
...  

Background: Intervention of neuroinflammation in central nervous system (CNS) represents a potential therapeutic strategy for a host of brain disorders. The scorpion Buthus martensii Karsch (BmK) and its venom have long been used in the Orient to treat inflammation-related diseases such as rhumatoid arthritis and chronic pain. Scorpion venom heat-resistant peptide (SVHRP), a component from BmK venom, has been shown to reduce seizure susceptibility in a rat epileptic model and protect against cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury. As neuroinflammation has been implicated in chronic neuronal hyperexcitability, epileptogenesis and cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury, the present study aimed to investigate whether SVHRP has anti-inflammatory property in brain.Methods: An animal model of neuroinflammation induced by lipopolysacchride (LPS) injection was employed to investigate the effect of SVHRP (125 µg/kg, intraperitoneal injection) on inflammagen-induced expression of pro-inflammatory factors and microglia activation. The effect of SVHRP (2–20 μg/ml) on neuroinflammation was further investigated in primary brain cell cultures containing microglia as well as the immortalized BV2 microglia culture stimulated with LPS. Real-time quantitative PCR were used to measure mRNA levels of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin (IL)-1β and IL-6 in hippocampus of animals. Protein levels of TNF-α, iNOS, P65 subunit of nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) and mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) were examined by ELISA or western blot. Microglia morphology in animal hippocampus or cell cultures and cellular distribution of p65 were shown by immunostaining.Results: Morphological study demonstrated that activation of microglia, the main component that mediates the neuroinflammatory process, was inhibited by SVHRP in both LPS mouse and cellular model. Our results also showed dramatic increases in the expression of iNOS and TNF-α in hippocampus of LPS-injected mice, which was significantly attenuated by SVHRP treatment. In vitro results showed that SVHRP attenuated LPS-elicited expression of iNOS and TNF-α in different cultures without cell toxicity, which might be attributed to suppression of NF-κB and MAPK pathways by SVHRP.Conclusion: Our study demonstrates that SVHRP is able to inhibit neuroinflammation and microglia activation, which may underlie the therapeutic effects of BmK-derived materials, suggesting that BmK venom could be a potential source for CNS drug development.


2020 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
pp. 204062232091602 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kaiwei Xu ◽  
Yunchang Mo ◽  
Dan Li ◽  
Qimin Yu ◽  
Lu Wang ◽  
...  

Background: Although N6-methyladenosine (m6A) plays a very important role in different biological processes, its function in the brain has not been fully explored. Thus, we investigated the roles of the RNA demethylases Alkbh5/Fto in cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury. Methods: We used a rat model and primary neuronal cell culture to study the role of m6A and Alkbh5/Fto in the cerebral cortex ischemic penumbra after cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury. We used Alkbh5-shRNA and Lv-Fto ( in vitro) to regulate the expression of Alkbh5/Fto to study their regulation of m6A in the cerebral cortex and to study brain function after ischemia-reperfusion injury. Results: We found that RNA m6A levels increased consecutive to the increase of Alkbh5 expression in both the cerebral cortex of rats after middle cerebral artery occlusion, and in primary neurons after oxygen deprivation/reoxygenation. In contrast, Fto expression decreased after these perturbations. Our results suggest that knocking down Alkbh5 can aggravate neuronal damage. This is due to the demethylation of Alkbh5 and Fto, which selectively demethylate the Bcl2 transcript, preventing Bcl2 transcript degradation and enhancing Bcl2 protein expression. Conclusion: Collectively, our results demonstrate that the demethylases Alkbh5/Fto co-regulate m6A demethylation, which plays a crucial role in cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury. The results provide novel insights into potential therapeutic mechanisms for stroke.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kong Fu ◽  
Miancong Chen ◽  
Hua Zheng ◽  
Chuanzi Li ◽  
Fan Yang ◽  
...  

Abstract Background: Morbidity and mortality remain high for ischemic stroke victims and at present there are no effective neuroprotective agents to improve the cure rate for these patients. In recent years, studies have shown that pelargonidin has many biological actions including anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory and anti-thrombogenic effects. However, there are few reports about the treatment of cerebral ischemia with this agent. Methods: The rat middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) model was established to investigate the neuroprotective effect of pelargonidin on cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury and to investigate its potential mechanism(s) of action. Magnetic resonance imaging and 2, 3, 5-triphenyltetrazolium chloride (TTC) staining were used to measure the volume of cerebral ischemia and modified neurological severity score (mNSS), the Morris water maze test to assess neurological functions, and ELISA to determine the levels of inflammatory factors in serum including TNF-α, TGF-β, IL-6 and IL-10 and oxidative factors i.e. MDA and SOD. The expression of Nrf2 and HO-1 protein in brain tissue was measured by immunofluorescence and western blot assays. Results: The results showed that pelargonidin could effectively reduce the volume of cerebral ischemia and improve the neurological function in MCAO rats, thereby enhancing memory and learning ability. With corresponding decreases in the expression of TNF-α, TGF-β, IL-6 and MDA, pelargonidin increased the level of IL-10 and SOD and promoted the expression of Nrf2 and HO-1 proteins in ischemic brain tissues. Conclusions: Our datas demonstrated that pelargonidin ameliorated neurological function deficits in MCAO rats and its potential mechanism of action was associated with overexpression of the Nrf2/HO-1 signaling pathway, which may provide a new approach to the treatment of cerebral ischemia or cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury.


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