Expression of c-fos in the rat cerebral cortex after focal ischemia and reperfusion

Alleviating sleep disturbances and modulating neuronal activity after ischemia: Evidence for the benefits of zolpidem in stroke recovery

AIMS

Sleep disorders are prevalent among stroke survivors and impede stroke recovery, yet they are still insufficiently considered in the management of stroke patients, and the mechanisms by which they occur remain unclear. There is evidence that boosting phasic GABA signaling with zolpidem during the repair phase improves stroke recovery by enhancing neural plasticity; however, as a non-benzodiazepine hypnotic, the effects of zolpidem on post-stroke sleep disorders remain unclear.

METHOD

Transient ischemic stroke in male rats was induced with a 30-minute middle cerebral artery occlusion. Zolpidem or vehicle was intraperitoneally delivered once daily from 2 to 7 days after the stroke, and the electroencephalogram and electromyogram were recorded simultaneously. At 24 h after ischemia, c-Fos immunostaining was used to assess the effect of transient ischemic stroke and acute zolpidem treatment on neuronal activity.

RESULTS

In addition to the effects on reducing brain damage and mitigating behavioral deficits, repeated zolpidem treatment during the subacute phase of stroke quickly ameliorated circadian rhythm disruption, alleviated sleep fragmentation, and increased sleep depth in ischemic rats. Immunohistochemical staining showed that in contrast to robust activation in para-infarct and some remote areas by 24 h after the onset of focal ischemia, the activity of the ipsilateral suprachiasmatic nucleus, the biological rhythm center, was strongly suppressed. A single dose of zolpidem significantly upregulated c-Fos expression in the ipsilateral suprachiasmatic nucleus to levels comparable to the contralateral side.

CONCLUSION

Stroke leads to suprachiasmatic nucleus dysfunction. Zolpidem restores suprachiasmatic nucleus activity and effectively alleviates post-stroke sleep disturbances, indicating its potential to promote stroke recovery.

l-borneol promotes neurovascular unit protection in the subacute phase of transient middle cerebral artery occlusion rats: p38-MAPK pathway activation, anti-inflammatory, and anti-apoptotic effect

Our previous study showed l-borneol reduced cerebral infarction in the acute stage after cerebral ischemia, but there is little about the study of subacute phase. We herein investigated the cerebral protective effects of l-borneol on neurovascular units (NVU) in the subacute phase after transient middle cerebral artery occlusion (t-MCAO). The t-MCAO model was prepared by the line embolus method. Zea Longa, mNss, HE, and TTC staining were used to evaluate the effect of l-borneol. We evaluated the mechanisms of l-borneol on inflammation, p38 MAPK pathway, and apoptosis, etc. through various technologies. l-borneol 0.2, 0.1, 0.05 g·kg-1 could significantly reduce cerebral infarction rate, alleviate the pathological injury, and inhibit inflammation reaction. l-borneol could also significantly increase brain blood supply, Nissl bodies, and the expression of GFAP. Additionally, l-borneol activated the p38 MAPK signaling pathway, inhibited cell apoptosis, and maintained BBB integrity. l-borneol had a neuroprotective effect, which was related to activating the p38 MAPK signaling pathway, inhibiting inflammatory response and apoptosis, and improving cerebral blood supply to protect BBB and stabilize and remodel NVU. The study will provide a reference for the use of l-borneol in the treatment of ischemic stroke in the subacute phase.

New epigenetic players in stroke pathogenesis: From non-coding RNAs to exosomal non-coding RNAs

Non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) have critical role in the pathophysiology as well as recovery after ischemic stroke. ncRNAs, particularly microRNAs, and the long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are critical for angiogenesis and neuroprotection, and they have been suggested to be therapeutic, diagnostic and prognostic tools in cerebrovascular diseases, including stroke. Moreover, exosomes have been considered as nanocarriers capable of transferring various cargos, such as lncRNAs and miRNAs to recipient cells, with prominent inter-cellular roles in the mediation of neuro-restorative events following strokes and neural injuries. In this review, we summarize the pathogenic role of ncRNAs and exosomal ncRNAs in the stroke.

Long Noncoding RNA Fos Downstream Transcript Is Developmentally Dispensable but Vital for Shaping the Poststroke Functional Outcome

[Figure: see text].

Long non-coding RNAs in ischemic stroke

Stroke is one of the leading causes of mortality and disability worldwide. Uncovering the cellular and molecular pathophysiological processes in stroke have been a top priority. Long non-coding (lnc) RNAs play critical roles in different kinds of diseases. In recent years, a bulk of aberrantly expressed lncRNAs have been screened out in ischemic stroke patients or ischemia insulted animals using new technologies such as RNA-seq, deep sequencing, and microarrays. Nine specific lncRNAs, antisense non-coding RNA in the INK4 locus (ANRIL), metastasis-associate lung adenocarcinoma transcript 1 (MALAT1), N1LR, maternally expressed gene 3 (MEG3), H19, CaMK2D-associated transcript 1 (C2dat1), Fos downstream transcript (FosDT), small nucleolar RNA host gene 14 (SNHG14), and taurine-upregulated gene 1 (TUG1), were found increased in cerebral ischemic animals and/or oxygen-glucose deprived (OGD) cells. These lncRNAs were suggested to promote cell apoptosis, angiogenesis, inflammation, and cell death. Our Gene Ontology (GO) enrichment analysis predicted that MEG3, H19, and MALAT1 might also be related to functions such as neurogenesis, angiogenesis, and inflammation through mechanisms of gene regulation (DNA transcription, RNA folding, methylation, and gene imprinting). This knowledge may provide a better understanding of the functions and mechanisms of lncRNAs in ischemic stroke. Further elucidating the functions and mechanisms of these lncRNAs in biological systems under normal and pathological conditions may lead to opportunities for identifying biomarkers and novel therapeutic targets of ischemic stroke.

Long Noncoding RNA FosDT Promotes Ischemic Brain Injury by Interacting with REST-Associated Chromatin-Modifying Proteins

Ischemia induces extensive temporal changes in cerebral transcriptome that influences the neurologic outcome after stroke. In addition to protein-coding RNAs, many classes of noncoding RNAs, including long noncoding RNAs (LncRNAs), also undergo changes in the poststroke brain. We currently evaluated the functional significance of an LncRNA called Fos downstream transcript (FosDT) that is cogenic with Fos gene. Following transient middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) in adult rats, expression of FosDT and Fos was induced. FosDT knockdown significantly ameliorated the postischemic motor deficits and reduced the infarct volume. Focal ischemia also increased FosDT binding to chromatin-modifying proteins (CMPs) Sin3a and coREST (corepressors of the transcription factor REST). Furthermore, FosDT knockdown derepressed REST-downstream genes GRIA2, NFκB2, and GRIN1 in the postischemic brain. Thus, FosDT induction and its interactions with REST-associated CMPs, and the resulting regulation of REST-downstream genes might modulate ischemic brain damage. LncRNAs, such as FosDT, can be therapeutically targeted to minimize poststroke brain damage.

SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT

Mammalian brain is abundantly enriched with long noncoding RNAs (LncRNAs). Functional roles of LncRNAs in normal and pathological states are not yet understood. This study identified that LncRNA FosDT induced after transient focal ischemia modulates poststroke behavioral deficits and brain damage. These effects of FosDT in part are due to its interactions with chromatin-modifying proteins Sin3a and coREST (corepressors of the transcription factor REST) and subsequent derepression of REST-downstream genes GRIA2, NFκB2, and GRIN1. Therefore, LncRNA-mediated epigenetic remodeling could determine stroke outcome.

Unraveling the ischemic brain transcriptome in a permanent middle cerebral artery occlusion mouse model by DNA microarray analysis

Brain ischemia, also termed cerebral ischemia, is a condition in which there is insufficient blood flow to the brain to meet metabolic demand, leading to tissue death (cerebral infarction) due to poor oxygen supply (cerebral hypoxia). Our group is interested in the protective effects of neuropeptides for alleviating brain ischemia, as well as the underlying mechanisms of their action. The present study was initiated to investigate molecular responses at the level of gene expression in ischemic brain tissue. To achieve this, we used a mouse permanent middle cerebral artery occlusion (PMCAO) model in combination with high-throughput DNA microarray analysis on an Agilent microarray platform. Briefly, the right (ipsilateral) and left (contralateral) hemispheres of PMCAO model mice were dissected at two time points, 6 and 24 hours post-ischemia. Total RNA from the ischemic (ipsilateral) hemisphere was subjected to DNA microarray analysis on a mouse whole genome 4x44K DNA chip using a dye-swap approach. Functional categorization using the gene ontology (GO, MGD/AMIGO) of numerous changed genes revealed expression pattern changes in the major categories of cellular process, biological regulation, regulation of biological process, metabolic process and response to stimulus. Reverse-transcriptase PCR (RT-PCR) analysis on randomly selected highly up- or downregulated genes validated, in general, the microarray data. Using two time points for this analysis, major and minor trends in gene expression and/or functions were observed in relation to early- and late-response genes and differentially regulated genes that were further classified into specific pathways or disease states. We also examined the expression of these genes in the contralateral hemisphere, which suggested the presence of bilateral effects and/or differential regulation. This study provides the first ischemia-related transcriptome analysis of the mouse brain, laying a strong foundation for studies designed to elucidate the mechanisms regulating ischemia and to explore the neuroprotective effects of agents such as target neuropeptides.

Diabetes alters cardiovascular responses to anaesthetic induction agents in STZ-diabetic rats

BACKGROUND

People with diabetes are at increased risk of cardiovascular (CV) morbidity and mortality during surgery. The most appropriate anaesthetic induction agent for these patients is unknown.

METHODS AND RESULTS

We assessed the CV effects of propofol, etomidate and ketamine in streptozotocin (65 mg/kg, IP) diabetic rats. In non-diabetic rats, none of these anaesthetics significantly modified cardiac output, heart rate or stroke volume, but ketamine increased systolic blood pressure (SBP) compared to etomidate and propofol (89.6 ± 2.4 mmHg, vs. 72.7 ± 3.0 and 75.4 ± 1.9; p < 0.05). In diabetic rats, by contrast, cardiac output was lower with ketamine (82.6 ± 14 ml/min) and etomidate (78.2 ± 15.8 ml/min) than with propofol (146 ± 21 ml/min, N = 8, p < 0.01). SBP, however, was higher in the propofol-treated group (93.3 ± 3.4 mmHg, p < 0.05).

CONCLUSION

These results suggest that hyperglycaemia modifies CV responses to induction anaesthetics.

Regional expression of constitutive and inducible transcription factors following transient focal ischemia in the neonatal rat: influence of hypothermia

Ischemia is a potent modulator of gene expression. Differential expression of transcription factors after focal ischemia may reflect the potential for neuronal recovery in peri-ischemic regions. Previously, we demonstrated that hypothermia reduces the volume of damage in a model of neonatal focal ischemia. In the present study, immunocytochemistry was used to assess the temporal and spatial profiles of the transcription factors Fos and pCREB under normal and hypothermic conditions in this neonatal model of focal ischemia. At 7 days of age, rat pups underwent a permanent middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAo) coupled with a temporary 1-h occlusion of the common carotid artery (CCAo). They were maintained at 37 degrees C throughout ischemia and reperfusion (Normothermic), or given 1 h of hypothermic conditions (28 degrees C) either during the occlusion (Intraischemic Hypothermia) or during the second hour of reperfusion (postischemic hypothermia). In normothermic pups, Fos immunoreactivity peaked at early time points (4-8 h post-ischemia) in a narrow band in peri-ischemic regions. By later stages of reperfusion (12-24 h), there was a more widespread induction in peri-ischemic regions including the ipsilateral cortex. In contrast with Fos, the constitutive transcription factor pCREB was reduced in core regions at all time points examined. Both the c-fos induction in peri-ischemic regions and the reduction of pCREB in the core were attenuated by intraischemic hypothermia. Postischemic hypothermia altered the distribution of Fos immunoreactivity without significantly changing the number of Fos- and pCREB-immunoreactive cells compared to normothermic rats. Both intra- and postischemic hypothermia reduced the number of caspase-immunoreactive cells. Thus, focal ischemia in the P7 rat produces different distributions of Fos and pCREB than what has been observed in adult rats subjected to focal ischemia, and expression of these transcription factors can be altered by hypothermia.

MK 801 attenuates c-Fos and c-Jun expression after in vitro ischemia in rat neuronal cell cultures but not in PC 12 cells

Cellular homeostatic adaptation to cerebral ischemia is complex and contains changes in receptor mediated gene expression and signaling pathways. The proteins of the immediate early genes c-Fos and c-Jun are thought to be involved in coupling neuronal excitation to target gene expression, due to formation of heterodimers and binding to the AP1 promotor region. We used an in vitro model to compare ischemia induced c-Fos and c-Jun expression in rat neuronal cell cultures and nerve growth factor (NGF) differentiated PC 12 cells. Since activation of glutamate receptors is known to mediate ischemic injury we determined the effect of the noncompetitive N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonist MK 801 on c-Fos and c-Jun expression in both cell culture systems during ischemia. Neuron rich cultures and NGF differentiated PC 12 cells were exposed to sublethal in vitro ischemia using an hypoxic chamber flushed with argon/CO2 (95 %/5%). C-Fos and c-Jun mRNA expression was analyzed by competitive reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction using glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH) as internal standard. One hour of in vitro ischemia significantly increased c-Fos and c-Jun mRNA levels in both cell culture systems. In neuron rich cultures a 10-fold (c-Fos) and 7-fold (c-Jun) mRNA increase was observed. The mRNA rise was less pronounced in PC 12 cells (5.5-fold and 2-fold) for c-Fos and c-Jun, respectively. The addition of MK 801 significantly reduced the expression of c-Fos and c-Jun mRNA in neuronal cultures, whereas no effect was detectable in PC 12 cells. Since MK 801 failed to reduce the c-Fos and c-Jun expression in NGF differentiated PC 12 cells different signaling pathways may initiate c-Fos and c-Jun expression in both cell culture systems.

Suppression of post-ischemic-induced fos protein expression by an antisense oligonucleotide to c-fos mRNA leads to increased tissue damage

Activation of c-fos, an immediate early gene, and the subsequent upregulation of Fos protein expression occur following neural injury, including focal cerebral ischemia (fci). Fos and Jun form a heterodimer known as activator protein 1, which regulates the expression of many late effector genes. To study the downstream effects of c-fos expression following ischemia, we suppressed the translation of c-fos by administering an antisense oligonucleotide (AO) to c-fos mRNA. Eighteen hours prior to fci, male, Long Evans (LE) rats received intraventricular injections of AO, mismatched AO (MS) or artificial cerebrospinal fluid (aCSF). Fci was induced by permanent right middle cerebral artery occlusion. At 24-h post-occlusion, neurological function was assessed, and the animals were sacrificed. The brains were removed and stained with triphenyltetrazolium chloride for infarct volume determination. Fos immunohistochemistry was performed in separate animals to determine the effects of treatment on Fos expression number of Fos positive cells. AO administration reduced the number of cells with fci-induced Fos expression by approximately 75%. No differences in neurological scores existed between any of the groups. AO-treated LE developed larger infarcts (40.1+/-1.0%, mean+/-S.D., p<0.001) than MS- or aCSF-treated controls (34.3+/-1.0%, 34.6+/-1.0%, respectively). These results suggest that c-fos activation and subsequent Fos protein expression exerts a neuroprotective effect, which is likely via upregulation of neurotrophins, following focal cerebral ischemia. This response, among others, may contribute to brain adaptation to injury that underlies functional recovery after stroke.

Overexpression of thioredoxin in transgenic mice attenuates focal ischemic brain damage

Thioredoxin (TRX) plays important biological roles both in intra- and extracellular compartments, including in regulation of various intracellular molecules via thiol redox control. We produced TRX overexpressing mice and confirmed that there were no anatomical and physiological differences between wild-type (WT) mice and TRX transgenic (Tg) mice. In the present study we subjected mice to focal brain ischemia to shed light on the role of TRX in brain ischemic injury. At 24 hr after middle cerebral artery occlusion, infarct areas and volume were significantly smaller in Tg mice than in WT mice. Moreover neurological deficit was ameliorated in Tg mice compared with WT mice. Protein carbonyl content, a marker of cellular protein oxidation, in Tg mice showed less increase than did that of WT mice after the ischemic insult. Furthermore, c-fos expression in Tg mice was stronger than in WT mice 1 hr after ischemia. Our results suggest that transgene expression of TRX decreased ischemic neuronal injury and that TRX and the redox state modified by TRX play a crucial role in brain damage during stroke.

Primary cortical glial reaction versus secondary thalamic glial response in the excitotoxically injured young brain: microglial/macrophage response and major histocompatibility complex class I and II expression

The excitatory amino acid analog, N-methyl-D-aspartate, was injected intracortically into nine-day-old rats. Resulting axon-sparing lesions in the developing sensorimotor cortex, which secondarily affect thalamic neurons that become deprived of cortical targets, provide an experimental model for the study of the glial response in distantly affected areas. The microglial/macrophage response was studied using tomato lectin histochemistry and major histocompatibility complex I and II immunocytochemistry. Blood-brain barrier integrity was evaluated. In the cortical lesion site, where blood-brain barrier breakdown occurs, the rapid microglial response was restricted to the degenerating area. Microglial changes were first seen at 4 h post-injection, peaking at days 3-5. Reactive microglia changed morphology, increased tomato lectin binding and expressed major histocompatibility complex I. Additionally, some cells expressed major histocompatibility complex II. In the secondarily affected thalamus, the microglial response was not as pronounced as in the cortex, was first seen at 10 h post-injection and peaked at days 3-5. Reactive microglia showed a bushy morphology, were intensely lectin positive and expressed major histocompatibility complex I. The exceptional response of the nine-day-old brain to cortical lesions makes this model an interesting tool for studying the implications of microglial major histocompatibility factor expression in still enigmatic processes such as wound healing and plasticity.

Correlation between potentiation of AP1 DNA binding and expression of c-Fos in association with phosphorylation of CREB at serine133 in thalamus of gerbils with ischemia

Protein biosynthesis is mainly under the control at the level of gene transcription in eukaryotes. Transcription factors are nuclear proteins with abilities to modulate the activity of RNA polymerase II which is responsible for the formation of messenger RNA from double stranded DNA in the cell nuclei. Binding of a radiolabeled oligonucleotide probe for the transcription factor activator protein-1 (AP1) was transiently potentiated 1 to 6 h after the recirculation of blood supply in the thalamus and striatum, but not in the entorhinal cortex, olfactory bulb, frontal cortex, cerebellar cortex and medulla-pons, in gerbils with transient global forebrain ischemia for 5 min, in addition to the hippocampal subregions. The ischemic insult not only increased the immunoreactivity with an antibody against cyclic AMP response element binding protein (CREB) phosphorylated at serine133, but also induced the expression of both c-Jun and c-Fos family proteins 3 h after the recirculation in the thalamus. Limited proteolysis by Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) V8 protease revealed the expression of different partner proteins of AP1 in response to ischemic signals in the thalamus. Moreover, ischemia for 2 min led to more prolonged elevation of AP1 binding in the thalamus at least up to 12 h after the reperfusion than that seen with ischemia for 5 min. These results suggest that potentiation of AP1 DNA binding may at least in part involve mechanisms associated with the expression of c-Fos protein through phosphorylation of CREB at serine133 in the thalamus of gerbils with ischemia.

Expression of Fos in the spinal motoneurons labelled by horseradish peroxidase following middle cerebral artery occlusion in rat

The study was aimed at the investigation of the rat corticospinal system both functionally and anatomically using as a functional marker the immediate early gene c-fos, combined with retrograde tracing with horseradish peroxidase (HRP). This was achieved by mapping c-fos induction immunocytochemically in the spinal cord as a result of occlusion of the middle cerebral artery (MCA). Following left-sided MCA occlusion, Fos-like immunoreactivity (Fos-LI) was localized in both the dorsal and ventral horn neurons at the lumbar segment of the spinal cord. Labelling was often bilateral but was generally more substantial ipsilaterally. In the ventral horn, some of the Fos-positive neurons were confirmed to be somatic motoneurons innervating the tibialis anterior muscle of the lower extremity contralateral to MCA occlusion, as shown by their retrograde labelling with horseradish peroxidase injected into the muscle. Fos-LI was absent in the ventral horn of the spinal cord at cervical, thoracic, and sacral segments in both experimental and sham-operated rats. These findings suggest that the expression of c-fos may be used as a sensitive transneuronal marker for the study of neuronal activity in the spinal cord elicited by brain damage, viz. focal cerebral ischaemia, and when coupled with injection of HRP as a retrograde tracer, the method may prove to be useful for the study of transneuronal effect of the damage of the corticospinal motor system. While the expression of c-fos in the spinal motoneurons was most probably attributable to transneuronal effect following MCA occlusion, the possibility of that c-fos can be induced by altered hindlimb activity after the cerebral ischaemic insult cannot be excluded.

Transcription factor DNA binding activity in PC12 cells undergoing apoptosis after glucose deprivation

Following hypoglycemic injury to rat pheochromocytoma PC12 cells, cells display nuclear chromatin condensation and nucleosome-sized DNA fragmentation. Electrophoretic mobility shift assays were used to characterize binding of nuclear proteins to consensus sequences for AP-1, nuclear factor kappa B (NF kappa B), and octamer family after glucose deprivation. While AP-1 DNA binding activity and NF kappa B DNA binding activity were transiently stimulated, DNA binding to the octamer motif decreased. These data suggest that changes in nuclear protein binding to specific consensus sequences are an early molecular event in hypoglycemic-ischemic injury-induced neuronal cell death.