ABSTRACT
Aim To study the protective effect of ZN-RF2 on OGD/R-induced injury and the autophagy-related mechanism in PC12 cells. Methods PC12 cells were cultured in vitro and divided into normal group and OGD/R group. qRT-PCR and Western blot were used to measure the mRNA and protein expressions of ZNRF2. To explore the effect of ZNRF2 on OGD/R-induced injury in PC12 cells, cells were grouped into normal group, OGD/R group, LV-ZNRF2 group, LV-NC group, siR-ZNRF2 group and siNC group. Cell viability was detected by MTT assay, cell apoptosis was measured by flow cytometry and the expressions of autophagy-related proteins LC3II, p62, Beclin-l were accessed by Western blot. Results Compared with normal group, the cell viability decreased in OGD/R group, the cell apoptosis increased markedly, and the expressions of ZNRF2 mRNA and protein were downregulated significantly. Simultaneously, the proteins expressions of LC3II and Beclin-1 increased, and the expression of p62 protein decreased in OGD/R group. Compared with OGD/R group, the cell viability was enhanced, the cell apoptosis and autophagy were decreased in LV-ZNRF2 group. In contrast, the cell viability decreased and the cell apoptosis and autophagy were aggravated after transfecting siR-ZNRF2. Conclusions ZNRF2 protects PCI2 cells from the injury caused by OGD/R and its mechanism may be related to the inhibition of autophagy.