The prognostic values of leukocyte Rho kinase activity in acute ischemic stroke

Inhibition of Retinal Ganglion Cell Loss By a Novel ROCK Inhibitor (E212) in Ischemic Optic Nerve Injury Via Antioxidative and Anti-Inflammatory Actions

Purpose

This study investigated the neuroprotective effects of administration of ROCK inhibitor E212 on ischemic optic neuropathy.

Methods

Rats received an intravitreal injection of either E212 or PBS immediately after optic nerve infarct. The oxidative stress in the retina was detected by performing superoxide dismutase activity and CellROX assays. The integrity of retinal pigment epithelium was determined by staining of zona occludens 1. The visual function, retinal ganglion cell (RGC) density, and RGC apoptosis were determined by using flash visual-evoked potential analysis, retrograde FluoroGold labeling, and TdT-dUTP nick end-labeling assay. Macrophage infiltration was detected by staining for ED1. The protein levels of TNF-α, p-CRMP, p-AKT1, p-STAT3, and CD206 were evaluated using Western blotting.

Results

Administration of E212 resulted in a 1.23-fold increase in the superoxide dismutase activity of the retina and 2.28-fold decrease in RGC-produced reactive oxygen species as compared to the levels observed upon treatment with PBS (P < 0.05). Moreover, E212 prevented the disruption of the blood-retinal barrier (BRB) in contrast to PBS. The P1-N2 amplitude and RGC density in the E212-treated group were 1.75- and 2.05-fold higher, respectively, than those in the PBS-treated group (P < 0.05). The numbers of apoptotic RGCs and macrophages were reduced by 2.93- and 2.54-fold, respectively, in the E212-treated group compared with those in the PBS-treated group (P < 0.05). The levels of p-AKT1, p-STAT3, and CD206 were increased, whereas those of p-PTEN, p-CRMP2, and TNF-α were decreased after treatment with E212 (P < 0.05).

Conclusions

Treatment with E212 suppresses oxidative stress, BRB disruption, and neuroinflammation to protect the visual function in ischemic optic neuropathy.

Metabolic determinants of leukocyte pathogenicity in neurological diseases

Neuroinflammatory and neurodegenerative diseases are characterized by the recruitment of circulating blood-borne innate and adaptive immune cells into the central nervous system (CNS). These leukocytes sustain the detrimental response in the CNS by releasing pro-inflammatory mediators that induce activation of local glial cells, blood-brain barrier (BBB) dysfunction, and neural cell death. However, infiltrating peripheral immune cells could also dampen CNS inflammation and support tissue repair. Recent advances in the field of immunometabolism demonstrate the importance of metabolic reprogramming for the activation and functionality of such innate and adaptive immune cell populations. In particular, an increasing body of evidence suggests that the activity of metabolites and metabolic enzymes could influence the pathogenic potential of immune cells during neuroinflammatory and neurodegenerative disorders. In this review, we discuss the role of intracellular metabolic cues in regulating leukocyte-mediated CNS damage in Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis and stroke, highlighting the therapeutic potential of drugs targeting metabolic pathways for the treatment of neurological diseases.

Common variants of ROCKs and the risk of hypertension, and stroke: Two case-control studies and a follow-up study in Chinese Han population

The Rho kinases (ROCKs) are recognized as a critical regulator of vascular functions in cardiovascular disorders. It is crucial to illustrate the association of ROCKs genetic variation and hypertension and/or stroke events. Herein we aimed at investigating the association of ROCK1 and ROCK2 with hypertension and stroke in Chinese Han population. Seven tagSNPs at ROCK1 and ROCK2 were genotyped in a community-based case-control study consisting of 2012 hypertension cases and 2210 normotensive controls and 4128 subjects were further followed up. In stroke case-control study, 1471 ischemic stroke (IS) inpatients and 607 hemorrhagic stroke (HS) inpatients were collected, and 2443 age-matched controls were selected from the follow-up population. Risks were estimated as odds ratio (OR) and hazard ratio (HR) by logistic and Cox regression. The community-based case-control study didn't identify any significant tagSNPs associated with hypertension even after adjustment for covariates. The follow-up analysis showed that rs1481280 of ROCK1 significantly associated with incident hypertension (HR=1.130, P=0.048) after adjusting for covariates. rs7589629 and rs978906 of ROCK2 were significantly associated with incident IS (HR=1.373, P=0.004; HR=1.284, P=0.026) respectively. In stroke case-control study, rs288980, rs1481280 and rs7237677 were significantly associated with IS and the adjusted ORs (P values) of additive model were 0.879 (0.010), 0.895 (0.036) and 0.857 (0.002) respectively. Furthermore, rs288980, rs7237677 and rs978906 were significantly associated with HS and the adjusted ORs (P values) of additive model were 0.857 (0.025), 0.848 (0.018) and 0.856 (0.027) respectively. Our findings suggest that ROCK1 and ROCK2 contribute to the genetic susceptibility of hypertension and stroke.

Therapeutic effects of adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells against brain death-induced remote organ damage and post-heart transplant acute rejection

We tested the hypothesis that allogenic adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells (ADMSCs) alleviated brain death (BD)-induced remote organ damage and events of post heart-transplant acute rejection. To determine the impact of BD on remote organ damage, adult-male F344 rats (n=24) were categorized sham-control (SC), BD and BD^MSC (allogenic ADMSC/1.2 × 10⁶ cells/derived from F344 by intravenous transfusion 3 h after BD procedure). To determine the protective effect of allogenic ADMSCs, animals (n=8/each group in F344/Lewis) were categorized into groups BD-T(F344 heart transplanted into Lewis by 6h after BD), BD-T^MSC(D1/3) (BD induction for 6h then heart transplantation, and allogenic ADMSCs transfusion at days 1 and 5 after heart transplantation), BD-T^MSC(3h) (BD + ADMSC/1.2 × 10⁶ cells at 3h and heart transplantation at 6h after BD) and BD-T^{MSC(3h, D1/3)} [BD + ADMSC/1.2 × 10⁶ cells at 3h and heart transplantation at 6h after BD, then ADMSC therapy by days 1/3]. At day 5 post procedure, liver, kidney and heart specimens showed higher molecular-cellular levels of inflammation, immune reaction, apoptosis and fibrosis in BD than in SC that were reversed in BD^MSC (all P < 0.0001). These molecular-cellular expressions and circulating/splenic levels of innate/adoptive immune cells were higher in BD-T, lowest in BD-T^{MSC(3h, D1/3)} and higher BD-T^MSC(3h) in than BD-T^MSC(D1/3), whereas heart function showed an opposite pattern among the four groups (all P < 0.001). In conclusion, ADMSCs suppressed BD-caused remote organ damage and heart-transplant rejection.

Obtaining Human Ischemic Stroke Gene Expression Biomarkers from Animal Models: A Cross-species Validation Study

Recent studies have revealed the systematic altering of gene expression in human peripheral blood during the early stages of ischemic stroke, which suggests a new potential approach for the rapid diagnosis or prediction of stroke onset. Nevertheless, due to the difficulties of collecting human samples during proper disease stages, related studies are rather restricted. Many studies have instead been performed on manipulated animal models for investigating the regulation patterns of biomarkers during different stroke stages. An important inquiry is how well the findings of animal models can be replicated in human cases. Here, a method is proposed based on PageRank scores of miRNA-mRNA interaction network to select ischemic stroke biomarkers derived from rat brain samples, and biomarkers are validated with two human peripheral blood gene expression datasets. Hierarchical clustering results revealed that the achieved biomarkers clearly separate the blood gene expression of stroke patients and healthy people. Literature searches and functional analyses further validated the biological significance of these biomarkers. Compared to the traditional methods, such as differential expression, the proposed approach is more stable and accurate in detecting cross-species biomarkers with biological relevance, thereby suggesting an efficient approach of re-using gene biomarkers obtained from animal-model studies for human diseases.

Rho Kinases in Health and Disease: From Basic Science to Translational Research

Rho-associated kinases ROCK1 and ROCK2 are key regulators of actin cytoskeleton dynamics downstream of Rho GTPases that participate in the control of important physiologic functions, S including cell contraction, migration, proliferation, adhesion, and inflammation. Several excellent review articles dealing with ROCK function and regulation have been published over the past few years. Although a brief overview of general molecular, biochemical, and functional properties of ROCKs is included, an effort has been made to produce an original work by collecting and synthesizing recent studies aimed at translating basic discoveries from cell and experimental models into knowledge of human physiology, pathophysiological mechanisms, and medical therapeutics. This review points out the specificity and distinct roles of ROCK1 and ROCK2 isoforms highlighted in the last few years. Results obtained from genetically modified mice and genetic analysis in humans are discussed. This review also addresses the involvement of ROCKs in human diseases and the potential use of ROCK activity as a biomarker or a pharmacological target for specific inhibitors.