Iptakalim improves cerebral microcirculation in mice after ischemic stroke by inhibiting pericyte contraction.

Pericytes are present tight around the intervals of capillaries, play an essential role in stabilizing the blood-brain barrier, regulating blood flow and immunomodulation, and persistent contraction of pericytes eventually leads to impaired blood flow and poor clinical outcomes in ischemic stroke. We previously show that iptakalim, an ATP-sensitive potassium (K-ATP) channel opener, exerts protective effects in neurons, and glia against ischemia-induced injury. In this study we investigated the impacts of iptakalim on pericytes contraction in stroke. Mice were subjected to cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO), then administered iptakalim (10 mg/kg, ip). We showed that iptakalim administration significantly promoted recovery of cerebral blood flow after cerebral ischemia and reperfusion. Furthermore, we found that iptakalim significantly inhibited pericytes contraction, decreased the number of obstructed capillaries, and improved cerebral microcirculation. Using a collagen gel contraction assay, we demonstrated that cultured pericytes subjected to oxygen-glucose deprivation (OGD) consistently contracted from 3 h till 24 h during reoxygenation, whereas iptakalim treatment (10 µM) notably restrained pericyte contraction from 6 h during reoxygenation. We further showed that iptakalim treatment promoted K-ATP channel opening via suppressing SUR2/EPAC1 complex formation. Consequently, it reduced calcium influx and ET-1 release. Taken together, our results demonstrate that iptakalim, targeted K-ATP channels, can improve microvascular disturbance by inhibiting pericyte contraction after ischemic stroke. Our work reveals that iptakalim might be developed as a promising pericyte regulator for treatment of stroke.

Neuronal extracellular vesicle derived miR-98 prevents salvageable neurons from microglial phagocytosis in acute ischemic stroke.

Extracellular vesicles (EVs), as a novel intercellular communication carrier transferring cargo microRNAs (miRNAs), could play important roles in the brain remodeling process after ischemic stroke. However, the detailed mechanisms involved in EVs derived miRNAs-mediated cellular interactions in the brain remain unclear. Several studies indicated that microRNA-98 (miR-98) might participate in the pathogenesis of ischemic stroke. Here, we showed that expression of miR-98 in penumbra field kept up on the first day but dropped sharply on the 3rd day after ischemic stroke in rats, indicating that miR-98 could function as an endogenous protective factor post-ischemia. Overexpression of miR-98 targeted inhibiting platelet activating factor receptor-mediated microglial phagocytosis to attenuate neuronal death. Furthermore, we showed that neurons transferred miR-98 to microglia via EVs secretion after ischemic stroke, to prevent the stress-but-viable neurons from microglial phagocytosis. Therefore, we reveal that EVs derived miR-98 act as an intercellular signal mediating neurons and microglia communication during the brain remodeling after ischemic stroke. The present work provides a novel insight into the roles of EVs in the stroke pathogenesis and a new EVs-miRNAs-based therapeutic strategy for stroke.

FTY720 Exerts Anti-Glioma Effects by Regulating the Glioma Microenvironment Through Increased CXCR4 Internalization by Glioma-Associated Microglia.

Background: Glioblastoma (GBM) is one of the most malignant and aggressive primary brain tumors. The incurability of glioblastoma is heavily influenced by the glioma microenvironment. FTY720, a potent immunosuppressant, has been reported to exert anti-tumor effects in glioblastoma. However, the impact of FTY720 on the glioma microenvironment remains unclear. Methods: We examined the effects of FTY720 on the distribution and polarization of glioma-associated microglia and macrophages (GAMs) in glioma-bearing rats using immunofluorescence staining. qRT-PCR and Western blotting were used to detect the expressions of CXCR4 and MAPK pathway-related signal molecules on microglia in the coculture system. The levels of inflammatory factors were tested via ELISA. Wound healing assay and Matrigel invasion assay were used to determine the migration and invasion of C6 glioma cells. Results: We discovered that FTY720 could inhibit the growth, migration, and invasion of glioma by targeting GAMs to impede their effect on glioma cells. Simultaneously, FTY720 could block the chemoattraction of GAMs by inhibiting MAPK-mediated secretion of IL-6 through increased internalization of CXCR4. Moreover, microglia and macrophages are polarized from pro-glioma to an anti-tumor phenotype. Conclusion: These results provide novel insights into the inhibitory effects of FTY720 on glioma by targeting GAMs-glioma interaction in the tumor microenvironment.

The Intra-nuclear SphK2-S1P Axis Facilitates M1-to-M2 Shift of Microglia via Suppressing HDAC1-Mediated KLF4 Deacetylation.

Sphingosine 1-phosphate (S1P) is involved in a variety of cellular responses including microglial activation and polarization. However, the impacts of S1P on ischemia-induced microglial activation and polarization remain unclear. In the present study, Sprague-Dawley rats were selected for middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) establishment and treated with S1P analog FTY720 (0.5, 1, 2 mg/kg) for 24 h. The impacts of FTY720 on oxygen-glucose deprivation (OGD)-induced microglial polarization were examined in the primary cultured microglia. FTY720 treatment could prevent ischemia-induced brain injury and neurological dysfunction, also decrease the levels of IL-1ß and TNF-α and promote M2 microglial polarization in rats. Further, we found that FTY720 inhibited the expressions of M1 markers, but increased the expressions of M2 markers in the OGD-insulted microglia. And FTY720 could enhance the phagocytic function of microglia. The sphingosine kinase 1/2 (SphK1/2) or the Sphk2 inhibitor could prevent the M1 to M2 phenotype shift improved by FTY720, but the Sphk1 inhibitor failed to affect the roles of FTY720. Furthermore, the Sphk1/2 or Sphk2 inhibitor promoted the activities of histone deacetylase (HDAC1) and inhibited the histone acetylation of the Krüppel-like factor 4 (KLF4) promoter regions, indicating that intra-nuclear pFTY720 inhibited HDAC1 activations and prevented KLF4 to interact with HDAC1, and thereby suppresses KLF4 deacetylation. Therefore, our data reveals that intra-nuclear SphK2-S1P axis might facilitate the transformation of microglial polarization from M1 to M2 phenotype, which might be intra-nuclear regulatory mechanisms of FTY720-prevented neuroinflammation.

Establishment and evaluation of a novel mouse model of peri/postmenopausal depression.

Women are believed to be more vulnerable to develop depressive symptoms during the perimenopause compared to postmenopause. The traditional bilateral ovariectomy and chronic mild stress (CMS) stimulation animal model produces a postmenopausal depressive-like state but the transition from perimenopausal period to postmenopausal period was ignored. Thus we establish a novel animal model in which the mice were stimulated by CMS for three months and removed the ovaries by two-step operation, and then evaluate whether this novel model could be much better for preclinical study used as a peri/postmenopause depressive model. The present study systemically evaluated the changes induced by two-step ovariectomy plus CMS in the mice. The depression-like behaviors, the levels of corticosterone, estrogen, pro-inflammatory factors, neurotransmitters, as well as brain-derived neurotrophic factor were determined; the changes of estrogen receptors, serotonin receptors, uterine weight and bone microarchitecture were also observed. The results show that the behaviors and biochemical indexes of mice changed gradually over time. Our study suggests that this two-step ovariectomy operation plus CMS successfully establishes a more reasonable peri/postmenopausal depression animal model which effectively simulates the clinical symptoms of peri/postmenopausal depressive women.

Antagonizing peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ facilitates M1-to-M2 shift of microglia by enhancing autophagy via the LKB1-AMPK signaling pathway.

Microglia-mediated neuroinflammation plays a dual role in various brain diseases due to distinct microglial phenotypes, including deleterious M1 and neuroprotective M2. There is growing evidence that the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ (PPARγ) agonist rosiglitazone prevents lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced microglial activation. Here, we observed that antagonizing PPARγ promoted LPS-stimulated changes in polarization from the M1 to the M2 phenotype in primary microglia. PPARγ antagonist T0070907 increased the expression of M2 markers, including CD206, IL-4, IGF-1, TGF-ß1, TGF-ß2, TGF-ß3, G-CSF, and GM-CSF, and reduced the expression of M1 markers, such as CD86, Cox-2, iNOS, IL-1ß, IL-6, TNF-α, IFN-γ, and CCL2, thereby inhibiting NFκB-IKKß activation. Moreover, antagonizing PPARγ promoted microglial autophagy, as indicated by the downregulation of P62 and the upregulation of Beclin1, Atg5, and LC3-II/LC3-I, thereby enhancing the formation of autophagosomes and their degradation by lysosomes in microglia. Furthermore, we found that an increase in LKB1-STRAD-MO25 complex formation enhances autophagy. The LKB1 inhibitor radicicol or knocking down LKB1 prevented autophagy improvement and the M1-to-M2 phenotype shift by T0070907. Simultaneously, we found that knocking down PPARγ in BV2 microglial cells also activated LKB1-AMPK signaling and inhibited NFκB-IKKß activation, which are similar to the effects of antagonizing PPARγ. Taken together, our findings demonstrate that antagonizing PPARγ promotes the M1-to-M2 phenotypic shift in LPS-induced microglia, which might be due to improved autophagy via the activation of the LKB1-AMPK signaling pathway.

PD149163 induces hypothermia to protect against brain injury in acute cerebral ischemic rats.

Therapeutic hypothermia is a promising strategy for acute cerebral ischemia via physical or pharmacological methods. In this study, we pharmacologically induced hypothermia on Sprague Dawley rats by intraperitoneally injecting PD149163. We found that mild hypothermia was induced by PD149163 treatment without local cerebral blood flow (LCBF) alteration. To evaluate the neuroprotective effects of PD149163, TTC staining, HE staining and Nissl's staining were performed in our study. We found that PD149163 could prevent neuronal damage, and inhibit proliferation and activation of glial cells induced by ischemia. Simultaneously, we observed PD149163 ameliorated apoptosis characterized by down-regulated caspase-3 and Bax, but elevated Bcl-2. Moreover, PD149163 dramatically reduced JNK and AMPK/mTOR signaling pathway activation, and thereby inhibited autophagy by increased P62 expression, decreased the ratio of LC3-Ⅱ to LC3-Ⅰ and the expression of Beclin. Taken together, the present findings reveal the therapeutic effects of PD149163-induced hypothermia in brain ischemia, and provide a new strategy for stroke treatment.

Rosiglitazone Exerts an Anti-depressive Effect in Unpredictable Chronic Mild-Stress-Induced Depressive Mice by Maintaining Essential Neuron Autophagy and Inhibiting Excessive Astrocytic Apoptosis.

There is increasing interest in the association between depression and the development of metabolic diseases. Rosiglitazone, a therapeutic drug used to treat type 2 diabetes mellitus, has shown neuroprotective effects in patients with stroke and Alzheimer's disease. The present study was performed to evaluate the possible roles of rosiglitazone in in vivo (unpredictable chronic mild stress-induced depressive mouse model) and in vitro (corticosterone-induced cellular model) depressive models. The results showed that rosiglitazone reversed depressive behaviors in mice, as indicated by the forced swimming test and open field test. Rosiglitazone was also found to inhibit the inflammatory response, decrease corticosterone levels, and promote astrocyte proliferation and neuronal axon plasticity in the prefrontal cortex of mice. This series of in vivo and in vitro experiments showed that autophagy among neurons was inhibited in depressive models and that rosiglitazone promoted autophagy by upregulating LKB1, which exerted neuroprotective effects. Rosiglitazone was also found to activate the Akt/CREB pathway by increasing IGF-1R expression and IGF-1 protein levels, thereby playing an anti-apoptotic role in astrocytes. Rosiglitazone's autophagy promotion and neuroprotective effects were found to be reversed by the PPARγ antagonist T0070907 in primary neurons and by PPARγ knockdown in an N2a cell line. In conclusion, we found that rosiglitazone protects both neurons and astrocytes in in vivo and in vitro depressive models, thereby playing an anti-depressive role. These findings suggest that PPARγ could be a new target in the development of anti-depressive drugs.