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Amin N, Chen S, Ye S, Wu F, Hussien AB, Lou C, Hu Z, Wang Y, Wu J, Fang M. Thymoquinone has a synergistic effect with PHD inhibitors to ameliorate ischemic brain damage in mice. Phytomedicine 2022; 104:154298. [PMID: 35797865 DOI: 10.1016/j.phymed.2022.154298] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/01/2022] [Revised: 06/10/2022] [Accepted: 06/25/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND A blockage in a blood vessel can cause reduced blood flow to the brain, which eventually leads to the death of surrounding tissue. Several studies have attempted to develop an effective intervention to reverse this process and improve the health status of affected individuals. Due to its indirect effect on cellular functions and metabolism, the hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF-1α) protein has been proposed as a promising transcription factor in the treatment of stroke. PURPOSE The current study aims to explore the relation between HIF-1 α and thymoquinone (TQ) in the attenuation of ischemic brain damage and the possible mechanism of this relation to reduce cell death. METHODS For this purpose, dimethyloxallyl glycine (DMOG), 8 mg/kg, Acriflavine (ACF), 1.5 mg/kg, and both combined with TQ (5 mg/kg) were assessed. Male C57 mice were used to establish an ischemic stroke model by using endothelin-1 (ET-1) (400 pmole/μl) intra- cranial injection. The ultrastructure alterations of neuronal soma, axons, and mitochondria after stroke and treatment were well addressed. Besides, the expression levels of VEGF, HIF-1α, Nrf2, and HO-1 were evaluated. Meanwhile, apoptosis and autophagy-related proteins were also investigated. RESULTS Treatment of ischemic stroke by TQ can activate the HIF-1α pathway and its downstream genes such as VEGF, TrkB, and PI3K, which in turn enhance angiogenesis and neurogenesis. Our study revealed that TQ has the same effect as DMOG to activate HIF-1 α and can improve motor dysfunction after ischemic stroke. Further, we demonstrated that both TQ and DMOG effectively attenuate the organelle's damage following ischemic stroke, which was confirmed by the cryogenic transmission electron microscope. The synergistic effect of TQ and DMOG may lead to a chemo-modulation action in the autophagy process after stroke onset and this result is validated by the western blot and rt-qPCR techniques. CONCLUSION Our finding revealed the potential role of TQ as a HIF-1 α activator to reduce cell death, modulate autophagy and decrease the infarct volume after ischemic stroke onset. The neuroprotective effect of TQ is achieved by decreasing the inflammation and increasing angiogenesis as well as neurogenesis via induction of the HIF-1α-VEGF/Nrf2-HO-1-TrkB-PI3K pathway.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nashwa Amin
- Gastroenterology Department, National Clinical Research Center for Child Health, Children's Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China; Institute of Systemic medicine, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China; Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Aswan University, Egypt
| | - Shijia Chen
- Gastroenterology Department, National Clinical Research Center for Child Health, Children's Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China
| | - Shan Ye
- The Second Clinical Medical College of Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Fei Wu
- Gastroenterology Department, National Clinical Research Center for Child Health, Children's Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China
| | - Azhar B Hussien
- Gastroenterology Department, National Clinical Research Center for Child Health, Children's Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China; Institute of Systemic medicine, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China
| | - Chengjian Lou
- Fourth Affiliated Hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, China
| | - Zhiying Hu
- Obstetrics & Gynecology Department, Zhejiang Integrated Traditional and Western Medicine Hospital, Hangzhou, China
| | - Yanyan Wang
- The Second Hospital of Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang, Hebei 050000, China
| | - Junsong Wu
- Department of Orthopedic, First Affiliated Hospital, College of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China.
| | - Marong Fang
- Gastroenterology Department, National Clinical Research Center for Child Health, Children's Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China; Institute of Systemic medicine, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China.
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Amin N, Du X, Chen S, Ren Q, Hussien AB, Botchway BOA, Hu Z, Fang M. Therapeutic impact of thymoquninone to alleviate ischemic brain injury via Nrf2/HO-1 pathway. Expert Opin Ther Targets 2021; 25:597-612. [PMID: 34236288 DOI: 10.1080/14728222.2021.1952986] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Abstract
Introduction: Reactive oxygen species (ROS)-mediated inflammation plays a crucial role in ischemic brain injury. Therefore, the activation of the nuclear erythroid 2 related protein and heme-oxygenase-1 (Nrf2/HO-1) pathway by thymoquinone (TQ) could ameliorate ischemic brain damage.Areas covered: The photo-thrombotic method was employed to assess the impact of TQ in attenuating ischemic brain damage in C57BL/6 J mice and thy1-YFP-16 transgenic mice. In vitro study of TQ efficiency to attenuate the oxygen-glucose deprivation/reoxygenation (OGD/R) induced cell death by fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACs) analysis was also analyzed. The protein expression levels of Nrf2/HO-1, inflammatory, and apoptotic were evaluated by immunofluorescence and western blot techniques. Besides, mRNA expression level of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), proto-oncogene (c-MYC), proto-oncogene (c-FOS), 5-hydroxytryptamine receptors (5-HT), and autophagy-related 5 (Atg5) were evaluated by RT-qPCR. The dendritic spine density of YFP slices was determined by confocal microscope.Results: Our in vivo and in vitro results indicated that TQ significantly mitigates brain damage and motor dysfunction after ischemic stroke. These observations coincided with curtailed cell death, inflammation, oxidative stress, apoptosis, and autophagy. Most importantly, Nrf2/HO-1 signaling pathway activation by TQ was vital in the modulation of the above processes. Lastly, we found TQ to have minimal toxicity in liver tissue.Conclusion: Our study gives credence to TQ as a promising intervention therapy for cerebral ischemia that decreases inflammation, oxidative stress, and neuronal cell death via the Nrf2/HO-1 pathway, along with modulation of apoptotic and autophagic processes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nashwa Amin
- Gastroenterology department, Children's Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine, National Clinical Research Center for Child Health, Hangzhou, China.,Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Aswan University, Aswan, Egypt.,Institute of Neuroscience, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Xiaoxue Du
- Translational Medicine Center, Affiliated Hangzhou First People's Hospital, Zhejiang, China
| | - Shijia Chen
- Gastroenterology department, Children's Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine, National Clinical Research Center for Child Health, Hangzhou, China.,Institute of Neuroscience, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Qiannan Ren
- Gastroenterology department, Children's Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine, National Clinical Research Center for Child Health, Hangzhou, China.,Institute of Neuroscience, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Azhar B Hussien
- Gastroenterology department, Children's Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine, National Clinical Research Center for Child Health, Hangzhou, China.,Institute of Neuroscience, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Benson O A Botchway
- Institute of Neuroscience, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Zhiying Hu
- Obstetrics & Gynecology Department, Zhejiang Integrated Traditional and Western Medicine Hospital, Hangzhou, China
| | - Marong Fang
- Gastroenterology department, Children's Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine, National Clinical Research Center for Child Health, Hangzhou, China.,Institute of Neuroscience, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
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