Circadian Variation in Ictus of Aneurysmal Subarachnoid Hemorrhage

Neuroprotection via Carbon Monoxide Depends on the Circadian Regulation of CD36-Mediated Microglial Erythrophagocytosis in Hemorrhagic Stroke

The molecular basis for circadian dependency in stroke due to subarachnoid hemorrhagic stroke (SAH) remains unclear. We reasoned that microglial erythrophagocytosis, crucial for SAH response, follows a circadian pattern involving carbon monoxide (CO) and CD36 surface expression. The microglial BV-2 cell line and primary microglia (PMG) under a clocked medium change were exposed to blood ± CO (250 ppm, 1 h) in vitro. Circadian dependency and the involvement of CD36 were analyzed in PMG isolated from control mice and CD36-/- mice and by RNA interference targeting Per-2. In vivo investigations, including phagocytosis, vasospasm, microglia activation and spatial memory, were conducted in an SAH model using control and CD36-/- mice at different zeitgeber times (ZT). In vitro, the surface expression of CD36 and its dependency on CO and phagocytosis occurred with changed circadian gene expression. CD36-/- PMG exhibited altered circadian gene expression, phagocytosis and impaired responsiveness to CO. In vivo, control mice with SAH demonstrated circadian dependency in microglia activation, erythrophagocytosis and CO-mediated protection at ZT2, in contrast to CD36-/- mice. Our study indicates that circadian rhythmicity modulates microglial activation and subsequent CD36-dependent phagocytosis. CO altered circadian-dependent neuroprotection and CD36 induction, determining the functional outcome in a hemorrhagic stroke model. This study emphasizes how circadian rhythmicity influences neuronal damage after neurovascular events.

Circadian dependency of microglial heme oxygenase-1 expression and inflammation determine neuronal injury in hemorrhagic stroke

BACKGROUND

The heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) enzyme pathway is of crucial importance in the removal of toxic blood components and regulation of neuroinflammation following hemorrhagic stroke. Although a circadian pattern dependency in the incidence and severity of hemorrhagic stroke exists, it is unknown whether the activity of the HO-1 system in the context of hemorrhagic injury also exhibits circadian dependency. We hypothesized that the circadian regulation of microglial HO-1 would determine the extent of neuroinflammation and neuronal injury in a murine model of subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH).

METHODS

In vitro expression patterns of HO-1 and circadian rhythm genes were analyzed in the microglial BV-2 cell line and primary microglia (PMG) using Western blot and qPCR. PMG isolated from Hmox1fl/fl and LyzM-Cre-Hmox1fl/fl mice were used to evaluate the role of microglial HO-1. We further investigated the in vivo relevance in a murine subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) model using Hmox1fl/fl and LyzM-Cre-Hmox1fl/fl mice with myeloid cell HO-1 deficiency, inducing SAH at different zeitgeber (ZT) times and analyzing the expression of HO-1 and the circadian control gene Period-2 (Per-2), respectively. Furthermore, we measured the inflammatory cytokine Monocyte Chemoattractant Protein-1 (MCP-1) in the cerebrospinal fluid of SAH patients in correlation with clinical outcome.

RESULTS

HO-1 baseline expression and response to CO with blood exposure depended on ZT. In vitro expression of circadian control genes was de-synchronized in LyzM-Cre-Hmox1fl/fl PMG and did not respond to exogenous CO exposure. We found that circadian rhythm plays a crucial role in brain damage after SAH. At ZT2, we observed less phagocytic function, more vasospasm and increased microglial activation. CO reduced mortality at ZT12 in HO-1 deficient mice and reduced the difference between ZT2 and ZT12 in the inflammatory response. Induction of MCP-1 in the CSF from SAH patients was time-dependent and correlated with the expression of circadian control genes, SAH severity, functional impairment and delirium.

CONCLUSIONS

Our data point towards a crucial role for the HO-1 enzyme system and circadian control in neuronal injury after a hemorrhagic stroke.

Circadian Rhythm Regulator REV-ERBα Attenuates Neuroapoptosis in Early Brain Injury After Experimental Subarachnoid Hemorrhage in Rats

Subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) is associated with circadian rhythm abnormalities, in which REV-ERBα plays a major regulatory role. Our ambition was to investigate the capacity of REV-ERBα to inhibit neuronal neuroapoptosis induced by early brain injury (EBI) after SAH. The endovascular perforation model was used to produce experimental SAH in Sprague-Dawley rats. Specific small-interfering RNA was used to downregulate the expression REV-ERBα while SR9009 was used to upregulate the expression before assessments. Short- and long-term neurobehavior assessments, immunofluorescence staining, TUNEL staining, Nissl staining, brain water content, and Western blot were performed. The expression level of endogenous REVERBα tended to increase and then decrease after SAH and peaked at 48 h. REV-ERBα upregulation diminished neuronal apoptosis and enhanced neurological function deficits. Meanwhile, REV-ERBα downregulation aggravated the damage. Furthermore, the levels of downstream proteins of REV-ERBα (i.e., brain and muscle ARNT-like 1 (BMAL1) and circadian locomotor output cycles kaput (CLOCK)) changed accordingly with REV-ERBα regulation. REV-ERBα may attenuate neuronal apoptosis in EBI after SAH through the BMAL1/CLOCK pathway.

Potential triggering factors associated with aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage: A large single-center retrospective study

Controlling blood pressure levels is critical to preventing intracranial aneurysm rupture, and a summary review of induced rupture events allows better health education for patients. We retrospectively reviewed all medical records of consecutive patients with aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (aSAH) admitted to Beijing Tiantan Hospital from 2015 to 2020. We collected patients’ demographic information, aneurysm morphology, blood pressure level on admission, time to onset, and events at the time of aneurysm rupture to analyze the factors precipitating aneurysmal rupture. A total of 764 patients were enrolled for analysis, including 461 (60.3%) female patients and 303 (39.7%) male patients. The mean age of onset in this cohort was 55, and 465 (60.9%) patients had hypertension history. Autumn (245/764 [32.1%]) was the most frequent season for aneurysm rupture, and 07:00–12:59 (277/764 [36.3%]) was the most frequent time frame for aneurysm rupture. The five most prevalent events when aneurysm rupture happened were: (1) daily behaviors that may induce hypertension (181/764 [23.7%]), especially defecation or micturition (116/181 [64.1%]); (2) sporting (162/764 [21.2%]), especially high‐intensity sports (108/162 [66.7%]); (3) mood and mental factors (112/764 [14.7%]), especially arguing or quarreling (61/112 [54.5%]); (4) sudden postural changes (93/764 [12.2%]), especially getting up (69/93 [74.2%]); and (5) sleeping (72/764 [9.4%]). Patients should avoid behaviors that may cause fluctuations in blood pressure, including keeping warm during seasonal alternation, keeping their urine and defecation unobstructed, avoiding high intensity physical exercise, maintaining a happy mood, avoiding sudden postural changes, and should not bathe with too cold or too hot water.

Chronobiological Patterns of Aneurysmal Subarachnoid Hemorrhage in Central China

Background:

Aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (aSAH) is an acute and sometimes fatal cerebrovascular disease. The chronobiological patterns of aSAH are still unclear worldwide. This 15-year time-series study aims to clarify the chronobiological patterns including seasonal, monthly, weekly, and circadian distributions of aSAH.

Methods:

We retrospectively analyzed the medical records of aSAH patients in central China. To investigate seasonal and weekly distributions, we used the χ2 goodness-of-fit test to analyze the uniformity of the onset time. To explore monthly and circadian distributions, we established Fourier models to show the rhythmicity in chronobiological patterns. Subgroup analyses were conducted to assess the impact of age, gender, hypertension statuses, and aneurysmal characteristics (number, size, and location) on the chronobiological patterns of aSAH.

Results:

A total of 1469 patients with aSAH were recruited in the study. The seasonal and monthly distribution exhibited significantly higher incidence in winter and January/December and lower incidence in summer and July. The weekly distribution of aSAH onset showed no significant uneven variation. The circadian distribution of aSAH exhibited a significant pattern (p = 0.0145), with a morning peak around 8:00, and a late afternoon peak at 16:00–20.00. The circadian rhythmicity varied in subgroups of different ages, genders, and aneurysmal locations.

Conclusion:

The occurrence of aSAH exhibits significant circannual and circadian patterns among the Chinese population. Patients with aSAH of different ages, genders, and aneurysmal locations would present different chronobiological patterns.

Implications of Circadian Rhythm in Stroke Occurrence: Certainties and Possibilities

Stroke occurrence is not randomly distributed over time but has circadian rhythmicity with the highest frequency of onset in the morning hours. This specific temporal pattern is valid for all subtypes of cerebral infarction and intracerebral hemorrhage. It also correlates with the circadian variation of some exogenous factors such as orthostatic changes, physical activity, sleep-awake cycle, as well as with endogenous factors including dipping patterns of blood pressure, or morning prothrombotic and hypofibrinolytic states with underlying cyclic changes in the autonomous system and humoral activity. Since the internal clock is responsible for these circadian biological changes, its disruption may increase the risk of stroke occurrence and influence neuronal susceptibility to injury and neurorehabilitation. This review aims to summarize the literature data on the circadian variation of cerebrovascular events according to physiological, cellular, and molecular circadian changes, to survey the available information on the chronotherapy and chronoprophylaxis of stroke and its risk factors, as well as to discuss the less reviewed impact of the circadian rhythm in stroke onset on patient outcome and functional status after stroke.

Relationship between Circadian Variation in Ictus of Aneurysmal Subarachnoid Hemorrhage and Physical Activity

OBJECTIVE

The circadian pattern of the onset time of aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (aSAH) has been reported by various authors. However, the effect of the degree of physical exertion on the circadian pattern has not been studied in detail. Therefore, we conducted this study to investigate the effect of physical exertion on the circadian pattern of aSAH.

METHODS

Of the 335 patients presenting with aSAH from January 2012 to December 2017, 234 patients with identifiable onset time and metabolic equivalent (MET) values were enrolled. The onset time of aSAH was divided into 4-hour intervals. The patient's physical exertion was then assessed on a scale between 1 and 8 METs using generally accepted MET values, and categorized into two groups-light exertion (1 to 4 METs) and moderate to heavy exertion (5 to 8 METs)-to determine the effect of the degree of physical exertion on the onset time distribution of aSAH. Multivariate analysis was used to calculate the odds ratio (OR) between the two groups to determine the effect of the degree of physical exertion on each set of time periods.

RESULTS

There was a definite bimodal onset pattern that peaked at 08:00-12:00 hours followed by 16:00-20:00 hours (p <0.001). MET values at all time intervals were found to be significantly higher than the night time (00:00-04:00 hours) values (p<0.031). The MET value distribution showed a unimodal pattern that slightly differed from the bimodal distribution of the onset time of aSAH. There were no significant differences in the ORs of each time interval according to the degree of the MET value.

CONCLUSION

This study reaffirmed that aSAH occurs in a bimodal pattern, especially showing the highest prevalence in the morning. Although aSAH could be related to daily activity, there were no significant changes in diurnal variations affected by the degree of physical exertion.

Carbon Monoxide Preserves Circadian Rhythm to Reduce the Severity of Subarachnoid Hemorrhage in Mice

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

Subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) is associated with a temporal pattern of stroke incidence. We hypothesized that natural oscillations in gene expression controlling circadian rhythm affect the severity of neuronal injury. We moreover predict that heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1/Hmox1) and its product carbon monoxide (CO) contribute to the restoration of rhythm and neuroprotection.

METHODS

Murine SAH model was used where blood was injected at various time points of the circadian cycle. Readouts included circadian clock gene expression, locomotor activity, vasospasm, neuroinflammatory markers, and apoptosis. In addition, cerebrospinal fluid and peripheral blood leukocytes from SAH patients and controls were analyzed for clock gene expression.

RESULTS

Significant elevations in the clock genes Per-1, Per-2, and NPAS-2 were observed in the hippocampus, cortex, and suprachiasmatic nucleus in mice subjected to SAH at zeitgeber time (ZT) 12 when compared with ZT2. Clock gene expression amplitude correlated with basal expression of HO-1, which was also significantly greater at ZT12. SAH animals showed a significant reduction in cerebral vasospasm, neuronal apoptosis, and microglial activation at ZT12 compared with ZT2. In animals with myeloid-specific HO-1 deletion (Lyz-Cre-Hmox1fl/fl ), Per-1, Per-2, and NPAS-2 expression was reduced in the suprachiasmatic nucleus, which correlated with increased injury. Treatment with low-dose CO rescued Lyz-Cre-Hmox1fl/fl mice, restored Per-1, Per-2, and NPAS-2 expression, and reduced neuronal apoptosis.

CONCLUSIONS

Clock gene expression regulates, in part, the severity of SAH and requires myeloid HO-1 activity to clear the erythrocyte burden and inhibit neuronal apoptosis. Exposure to CO rescues the loss of HO-1 and thus merits further investigation in patients with SAH.

Circadian Variation of Stroke Onset: A Hospital-Based Study

Aims and background.

The circadian pattern of stroke occurrence variation has been recognized with certain differences between authors and stroke types. The underlying reason may be related to exogenous factors (cyclic physical activity, including sleep–awake cycles and assuming the up-right posture) and endogenous factors, with their diurnal variation (blood pressure, hemostatic balance, autonomic system activity). The aims of the present study are to investigate the existence of a circadian variation of stroke and the possible differences between stroke subtypes in the Cluj Napoca area.

Materials and method.

The stroke event data were acquired from the Patient Records of a consecutive series of 1083 patients admitted through the Emergency Room at Neurology Departments I and II of the District Hospital of Cluj Napoca, between 1 January 2012 and 31 December 2012. The classifiable onset time was assigned to one of four six-hour intervals: 00.01–06.00 (night), 06.01–12.00 (morning), 12.01–18.00 (afternoon) and 18.01–24.00 (evening). Demographic data and vascular risk factors were recorded.

Results.

All three stroke types (ischemic stroke, hemorrhagic stroke and subarachnoid hemorrhage) have shown a circadian variation regarding their occurrence, with the peak of incidence in the morning and the nadir during nighttime. This circadian pattern is independent by demographic factors and vascular risk factors.

Conclusion.

Our study confirmed the circadian variation of onset occurrence for all stroke subtypes. Some triggering factors promote ischemic stroke and prevent hemorrhagic stroke. The diurnal pattern of variation with the higher incidence in the morning and the lower in the night may lead to chrono-therapeutic and preventive approach (chrono-therapy of the risk factors), which targets the period of the highest vulnerability after awaking.