Treadmill exercise enhances synaptic plasticity in the ischemic penumbra of MCAO mice by inducing the expression of Camk2a via CYFIP1 upregulation

DL-3-n-Butylphthalide Ameliorates Post-stroke Emotional Disorders by Suppressing Neuroinflammation and PANoptosis

Post-stroke emotional disorders such as post-stroke anxiety and post-stroke depression are typical symptoms in patients with stroke. They are closely associated with poor prognosis and low quality of life. The State Food and Drug Administration of China has approved DL-3-n-butylphthalide (NBP) as a treatment for ischemic stroke (IS). Clinical research has shown that NBP alleviates anxiety and depressive symptoms in patients with IS. Therefore, this study explored the role and molecular mechanisms of NBP in cases of post-stroke emotional disorders using network pharmacology and experimental validation. The results showed that NBP treatment significantly increased the percentage of time spent in the center of the middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) rats in the open field test and the percentage of sucrose consumption in the sucrose preference test. Network pharmacology results suggest that NBP may regulate neuroinflammation and cell death. Further experiments revealed that NBP inhibited the toll-like receptor 4/nuclear factor kappa B signaling pathway, decreased the level of pro-inflammatory cytokines, including tumor necrosis factor-α, interleukin-1β, and interleukin-6, and M1-type microglia markers (CD68, inducible nitric oxide synthase), and reduced the expression of PANoptosis-related molecules including caspase-1, caspase-3, caspase-8, gasdermin D, and mixed lineage kinase domain-like protein in the hippocampus of the MACO rats. These findings demonstrate that the mechanisms through which NBP ameliorates post-stroke emotional disorders in rats are associated with inhibiting neuroinflammation and PANoptosis, providing a new strategy and experimental basis for treating post-stroke emotional disorders.

Neferine inhibits BMECs pyroptosis and maintains blood-brain barrier integrity in ischemic stroke by triggering a cascade reaction of PGC-1α

Blood-brain barrier disruption is a critical pathological event in the progression of ischemic stroke (IS). Most studies regarding the therapeutic potential of neferine (Nef) on IS have focused on neuroprotective effect. However, whether Nef attenuates BBB disruption during IS is unclear. We here used mice underwent transient middle cerebral artery occlusion (tMCAO) in vivo and bEnd.3 cells exposed to oxygen-glucose deprivation/reoxygenation (OGD/R) injury in vitro to simulate cerebral ischemia. We showed that Nef reduced neurobehavioral dysfunction and protected brain microvascular endothelial cells and BBB integrity. Molecular docking, short interfering (Si) RNA and plasmid transfection results showed us that PGC-1α was the most binding affinity of biological activity protein for Nef. And verification experiments were showed that Nef upregulated PGC-1α expression to reduce mitochondrial oxidative stress and promote TJ proteins expression, further improves the integrity of BBB in mice. Intriguingly, our study showed that neferine is a natural PGC-1α activator and illustrated the mechanism of specific binding site. Furthermore, we have demonstrated Nef reduced mitochondria oxidative damage and ameliorates endothelial inflammation by inhibiting pyroptosis to improve BBB permeability through triggering a cascade reaction of PGC-1α via regulation of PGC-1α/NLRP3/GSDMD signaling pathway to maintain the integrity of BBB in ischemia/reperfusion injury.

Unveiling the potential of estrogen: Exploring its role in neuropsychiatric disorders and exercise intervention

Neuropsychiatric disorders shorten human life spans through multiple ways and become major threats to human health. Exercise can regulate the estrogen signaling, which may be involved in depression, Alzheimer's disease (AD) and Parkinson's disease (PD), and other neuropsychiatric disorders as well in their sex differences. In nervous system, estrogen is an important regulator of cell development, synaptic development, and brain connectivity. Therefore, this review aimed to investigate the potential of estrogen system in the exercise intervention of neuropsychiatric disorders to better understand the exercise in neuropsychiatric disorders and its sex specific. Exercise can exert a protective effect in neuropsychiatric disorders through regulating the expression of estrogen and estrogen receptors, which are involved in neuroprotection, neurodevelopment, and neuronal glucose homeostasis. These processes are mediated by the downstream factors of estrogen signaling, including N-myc downstream regulatory gene 2 (Ndrg2), serotonin (5-HT), delta like canonical Notch ligand 1 (DLL1), NOD-like receptor thermal protein domain associated protein 3 (NLRP3), etc. In addition, exercise can act on the estrogen response element (ERE) fragment in the genes of estrogenic downstream factors like β-amyloid precursor protein cleavase 1 (BACE1). However, there are few studies on the relationship between exercise, the estrogen signaling pathway, and neuropsychiatric disorders. Hence, we review how the estrogen signaling mediates the mechanism of exercise intervention in neuropsychiatric disorders. We aim to provide a theoretical perspective for neuropsychiatric disorders affecting female health and provide theoretical support for the design of exercise prescriptions.

Identification and characterization of biomarkers associated with endoplasmic reticulum protein processing in cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury

Background

Cerebral ischemia (CI), ranking as the second leading global cause of death, is frequently treated by reestablishing blood flow and oxygenation. Paradoxically, this reperfusion can intensify tissue damage, leading to CI-reperfusion injury. This research sought to uncover biomarkers pertaining to protein processing in the endoplasmic reticulum (PER) during CI-reperfusion injury.

Methods

We utilized the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) dataset GSE163614 to discern differentially expressed genes (DEGs) and single out PER-related DEGs. The functions and pathways of these PER-related DEGs were identified via Gene Ontology (GO) and the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) enrichment analyses. Core genes were pinpointed through protein-protein interaction (PPI) networks. Subsequent to this, genes with diagnostic relevance were distinguished using external validation datasets. A single-sample gene-set enrichment analysis (ssGSEA) was undertaken to pinpoint genes with strong associations to hypoxia and apoptosis, suggesting their potential roles as primary inducers of apoptosis in hypoxic conditions during ischemia-reperfusion injuries.

Results

Our study demonstrated that PER-related genes, specifically ADCY5, CAMK2A, PLCB1, NTRK2, and DLG4, were markedly down-regulated in models, exhibiting a robust association with hypoxia and apoptosis.

Conclusion

The data indicates that ADCY5, CAMK2A, PLCB1, NTRK2, and DLG4 could be pivotal genes responsible for triggering apoptosis in hypoxic environments during CI-reperfusion injury.

Rehabilitation Training after Spinal Cord Injury Affects Brain Structure and Function: From Mechanisms to Methods

Spinal cord injury (SCI) is a serious neurological insult that disrupts the ascending and descending neural pathways between the peripheral nerves and the brain, leading to not only functional deficits in the injured area and below the level of the lesion but also morphological, structural, and functional reorganization of the brain. These changes introduce new challenges and uncertainties into the treatment of SCI. Rehabilitation training, a clinical intervention designed to promote functional recovery after spinal cord and brain injuries, has been reported to promote activation and functional reorganization of the cerebral cortex through multiple physiological mechanisms. In this review, we evaluate the potential mechanisms of exercise that affect the brain structure and function, as well as the rehabilitation training process for the brain after SCI. Additionally, we compare and discuss the principles, effects, and future directions of several rehabilitation training methods that facilitate cerebral cortex activation and recovery after SCI. Understanding the regulatory role of rehabilitation training at the supraspinal center is of great significance for clinicians to develop SCI treatment strategies and optimize rehabilitation plans.

Exercise pretreatment alleviates neuroinflammation and oxidative stress by TFEB-mediated autophagic flux in mice with ischemic stroke

BACKGROUND

Neuroinflammation and oxidative stress are important pathological mechanisms underlying cerebral ischemic stroke. Increasing evidence suggests that regulation autophagy in ischemic stroke may improve neurological functions. In this study, we aimed to explore whether exercise pretreatment attenuates neuroinflammation and oxidative stress in ischemic stroke by improving autophagic flux.

METHODS

2,3,5-Triphenyltetrazolium chloride staining was used to determine the infarction volume, and modified Neurological Severity Scores and rotarod test were used to evaluate neurological functions after ischemic stroke. The levels of oxidative stress, neuroinflammation, neuronal apoptosis and degradation, autophagic flux, and signaling pathway proteins were determined using immunofluorescence, dihydroethidium, TUNEL, and Fluoro-Jade B staining, western blotting, and co-immunoprecipitation.

RESULTS

Our results showed that, in middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) mice, exercise pretreatment improved neurological functions and defective autophagy, and reduced neuroinflammation and oxidative stress. Mechanistically, after using chloroquine, impaired autophagy abolished the neuroprotection of exercise pretreatment. And transcription factor EB (TFEB) activation mediated by exercise pretreatment contributes to improving autophagic flux after MCAO. Furthermore, we showed that TFEB activation mediated by exercise pretreatment in MCAO was regulated by the AMPK-mTOR and AMPK-FOXO3a-SKP2-CARM1 signaling pathways.

CONCLUSIONS

Exercise pretreatment has the potential to improve the prognosis of ischemic stroke patients, and it can exert neuroprotective effects in ischemic stroke by inhibiting neuroinflammation and oxidative stress, which might be due to the TFEB-mediated autophagic flux. And targeting autophagic flux may be promising strategies for the treatment of ischemic stroke.

cGAS-STING pathway aggravates early cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury in mice by activating NCOA4-mediated ferritinophagy

Stroke patients are often complicated by cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury (CIRI) after the restoration of cerebral perfusion, and how to prevent CIRI at an early stage has received close attention. The imbalance of iron metabolism is one of the essential factors in the aggravation of CIRI, and NCOA4-mediated ferritinophagy, as a critical pathway to regulate iron metabolism, is expected to be an effective intervention target. We established a mouse model of cerebral ischemia-reperfusion (CIR) with NCOA4 silencing. We found that activation of NCOA4-mediated ferritinophagy atthe early stage of CIR mediated the onset of oxidative stress and contributed to autophagy and apoptosis, and eventually resulted in increased brain injury. This suggests that NCOA4-mediated ferritinophagy plays a vital role in early CIR and can be an effective target to prevent and treat CIRI. We next explored the upstream regulatory targets of NCOA4-mediated ferritinophagy. The previous evidence for the cGAS-STING pathway's importance during CIR and its strong relationship with autophagy attracted our attention. To investigate whether the cGAS-STING pathway regulates NCOA4-mediated ferritinophagy, we further administered a cGAS inhibitor to mice with CIR and overexpressed NCOA4. Along with the inhibition of the cGAS-STING pathway, ferritinophagy, oxidative stress, autophagy, and apoptosis were inhibited, and CIRI was ameliorated, which was attenuated by NCOA4 overexpression. In conclusion, our results suggest that activation of the cGAS-STING pathway exacerbates CIRI at the early stage of CIR, which may be achieved by mediating NCOA4-mediated ferritinophagy.

Legumain knockout improved cognitive impairment via reducing neuroinflammation in right unilateral common carotid artery occlusion mice

AIMS

Chronic cerebral hypoperfusion (CCH) is a state of chronic cerebral blood flow reduction, and it is the main cause of cognitive impairment and neurodegenerative diseases. The abnormal upregulation of legumain, a lysosomal cysteine protease, trigger synaptic plasticity impairment and neuroinflammation, which are involved in the underlying pathophysiology of CCH. At present, few studies have reported the role of legumain in cognitive impairment caused by CCH. In our study, we aimed to investigate the involvement of legumain knockout in cognitive function and neuroinflammation in a CCH mouse model.

MAIN METHODS

In this study, right unilateral common carotid artery occlusion (rUCCAO) was used to simulate the pathological state of cerebral ischemic injury. Various behavioural tests were executed to assess cognitive performance. In vivo electrophysiological recordings were used to measure synaptic functions. Western blotting, Golgi staining, haematoxylin/eosin staining, and immunofluorescence assays were conducted to examine pathological changes and molecular mechanisms.

KEY FINDINGS

The data showed that the level of legumain was significantly increased in the hippocampus of mice subjected to rUCCAO. Legumain knockout significantly improved cognitive function and synaptic plasticity induced by rUCCAO, suggesting that legumain knockout-regulation effectively protected against CCH-induced behavioural dysfunctions. Moreover, legumain knockout suppressed rUCCAO-induced microglial activation, reduced the abnormal expression of inflammatory cytokines and the inflammasome complex, and impeded the activation of P65 and pyroptosis.

SIGNIFICANCE

These findings suggest that legumain is an effective regulator of CCH, and may be an ideal target for the development of cerebral ischemia treatments in the future.

Cytoplasmic FMR1 interacting protein (CYFIP) family members and their function in neural development and disorders

In humans, the cytoplasmic FMR1 interacting protein (CYFIP) family is composed of CYFIP1 and CYFIP2. Despite their high similarity and shared interaction with many partners, CYFIP1 and CYFIP2 act at different points in cellular processes. CYFIP1 and CYFIP2 have different expression levels in human tissues, and knockout animals die at different time points of development. CYFIP1, similar to CYFIP2, acts in the WAVE regulatory complex (WRC) and plays a role in actin dynamics through the activation of the Arp2/3 complex and in a posttranscriptional regulatory complex with the fragile X mental retardation protein (FMRP). Previous reports have shown that CYFIP1 and CYFIP2 may play roles in posttranscriptional regulation in different ways. While CYFIP1 is involved in translation initiation via the 5'UTR, CYFIP2 may regulate mRNA expression via the 3'UTR. In addition, this CYFIP protein family is involved in neural development and maturation as well as in different neural disorders, such as intellectual disabilities, autistic spectrum disorders, and Alzheimer's disease. In this review, we map diverse studies regarding the functions, regulation, and implications of CYFIP proteins in a series of molecular pathways. We also highlight mutations and their structural effects both in functional studies and in neural diseases.