c-myc protects mice from ischemia stroke through elevating microRNA-200b-5p-regulated SIRT1 expression

Integrative Multi-Omics Analysis for Etiology Classification and Biomarker Discovery in Stroke: Advancing towards Precision Medicine

Recent advancements in high-throughput omics technologies have opened new avenues for investigating stroke at the molecular level and elucidating the intricate interactions among various molecular components. We present a novel approach for multi-omics data integration on knowledge graphs and have applied it to a stroke etiology classification task of 30 stroke patients through the integrative analysis of DNA methylation and mRNA, miRNA, and circRNA. This approach has demonstrated promising performance as compared to other existing single technology approaches.

The Activation of GABAAR Alleviated Cerebral Ischemic Injury via the Suppression of Oxidative Stress, Autophagy, and Apoptosis Pathways

Ischemic stroke is a devastating disease leading to neurologic impairment. Compounding the issue is the very limited array of available interventions. The activation of a γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) type A receptor (GABAAR) has been reported to produce neuroprotective properties during cerebral ischemia, but its mechanism of action is not yet fully understood. Here, in a rat model of photochemically induced cerebral ischemia, we found that muscimol, a GABAAR agonist, modulated GABAergic signaling, ameliorated anxiety-like behaviors, and attenuated neuronal damage in rats suffering cerebral ischemia. Moreover, GABAAR activation improved brain antioxidant levels, reducing the accumulation of oxidative products, which was closely associated with the NO/NOS pathway. Notably, the inhibition of autophagy markedly relieved the neuronal insult caused by cerebral ischemia. We further established an oxygen-glucose deprivation (OGD)-induced PC12 cell injury model. Both in vivo and in vitro experiments demonstrated that GABAAR activation obviously suppressed autophagy by regulating the AMPK-mTOR pathway. Additionally, GABAAR activation inhibited apoptosis through inhibiting the Bax/Bcl-2 pathway. These data suggest that GABAAR activation exerts neuroprotective effects during cerebral ischemia through improving oxidative stress and inhibiting autophagy and apoptosis. Our findings indicate that GABAAR serves as a target for treating cerebral ischemia and highlight the GABAAR-mediated autophagy signaling pathway.

Ginkgo biloba extract promotes Treg differentiation to ameliorate ischemic stroke via inhibition of HIF-1α/HK2 pathway

The ischemic brain can dialogue with peripheral tissues through the immune system. Ginkgo biloba extract (EGb) was used to regulate various neurological disorders; however, the impact of EGb on ischemic stroke is still unclear. Here, we aimed to investigate whether immunomodulation has participated in the beneficial effects of EGb on ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) brain injury. Mice were orally administered with EGb once daily for 7 days before the induction of I/R. Neurobehavioral scores, infarct volume, and brain inflammation were determined. The proportion of CD4+ T cells was detected by flow cytometry. EGb significantly lowered neurobehavioral scores, infarct volume, and the level of inflammatory cytokines in I/R mice. Interestingly, EGb altered the proportion of CD4+ T cells, particularly increasing the proportion of Treg cells. Depletion of Treg cells weakened the neuroprotective effects of EGb on ischemic stroke; furthermore, EGb decreased the expression of HIF-1α and HK2 and promoted the differentiation of Treg cells in vitro. EGb suppressed the HIF-1α/HK2 signaling pathway to promote the differentiation of Treg cells and ameliorate ischemic stroke in mice. The expansion effect of EGb on Treg cells could be exploited as part of future stroke therapy.

Sirtuins: Promising Therapeutic Targets to Treat Ischemic Stroke

Stroke is a major cause of mortality and disability globally, with ischemic stroke (IS) accounting for over 80% of all stroke cases. The pathological process of IS involves numerous signal molecules, among which are the highly conserved nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+)-dependent enzymes known as sirtuins (SIRTs). SIRTs modulate various biological processes, including cell differentiation, energy metabolism, DNA repair, inflammation, and oxidative stress. Importantly, several studies have reported a correlation between SIRTs and IS. This review introduces the general aspects of SIRTs, including their distribution, subcellular location, enzyme activity, and substrate. We also discuss their regulatory roles and potential mechanisms in IS. Finally, we describe the current therapeutic methods based on SIRTs, such as pharmacotherapy, non-pharmacological therapeutic/rehabilitative interventions, epigenetic regulators, potential molecules, and stem cell-derived exosome therapy. The data collected in this study will potentially contribute to both clinical and fundamental research on SIRTs, geared towards developing effective therapeutic candidates for future treatment of IS.

MiR-200b-5p inhibits tumor progression in salivary adenoid cystic carcinoma via targeting BTBD1

Salivary adenoid cystic carcinoma (SACC) is a rare malignant tumor of the salivary gland. Studies have suggested that miRNA may play a crucial role in the invasion and metastasis of SACC. This study aimed to investigate the role of miR-200b-5p in SACC progression. Reverse transcription-quantitative PCR and western blot assay were used to detect the expression levels of miR-200b-5p and BTBD1. The biological functions of miR-200b-5p were evaluated via wound-healing assays, transwell assays, and xenograft nude mice model. The interaction between miR-200b-5p and BTBD1 was assessed using luciferase assay. Results showed that miR-200b-5p was downregulated in the SACC tissues while BTBD1 was upregulated. miR-200b-5p overexpression suppressed SACC cell proliferation, migration, invasion, and epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT). Bioinformatics prediction and luciferase reporter assay revealed that miR-200b-5p could directly bind to BTBD1. Besides, miR-200b-5p overexpression could rescue the tumor-promoting effect of BTBD1. miR-200b-5p inhibited tumor progression by modulating EMT-related proteins, targeting BTBD1 and inhibiting PI3K/AKT signaling pathway. Overall, our findings indicate that miR-200b-5p can suppress SACC proliferation, migration, invasion, and EMT by regulating BTBD1 and PI3K/AKT axis, providing a promising therapeutic target for SACC treatment.

A systematic review of the research progress of non-coding RNA in neuroinflammation and immune regulation in cerebral infarction/ischemia-reperfusion injury

Cerebral infarction/ischemia-reperfusion injury is currently the disease with the highest mortality and disability rate of cardiovascular disease. Current studies have shown that nerve cells die of ischemia several hours after ischemic stroke, which activates the innate immune response in the brain, promotes the production of neurotoxic substances such as inflammatory cytokines, chemokines, reactive oxygen species and − nitrogen oxide, and mediates the destruction of blood-brain barrier and the occurrence of a series of inflammatory cascade reactions. Meanwhile, the expression of adhesion molecules in cerebral vascular endothelial cells increased, and immune inflammatory cells such as polymorphonuclear neutrophils, lymphocytes and mononuclear macrophages passed through vascular endothelial cells and entered the brain tissue. These cells recognize antigens exposed by the central nervous system in the brain, activate adaptive immune responses, and further mediate secondary neuronal damage, aggravating neurological deficits. In order to reduce the above-mentioned damage, the body induces peripheral immunosuppressive responses through negative feedback, which increases the incidence of post-stroke infection. This process is accompanied by changes in the immune status of the ischemic brain tissue in local and systemic systems. A growing number of studies implicate noncoding RNAs (ncRNAs) as novel epigenetic regulatory elements in the dysfunction of various cell subsets in the neurovascular unit after cerebral infarction/ischemia-reperfusion injury. In particular, recent studies have revealed advances in ncRNA biology that greatly expand the understanding of epigenetic regulation of immune responses and inflammation after cerebral infarction/ischemia-reperfusion injury. Identification of aberrant expression patterns and associated biological effects of ncRNAs in patients revealed their potential as novel biomarkers and therapeutic targets for cerebral infarction/ischemia-reperfusion injury. Therefore, this review systematically presents recent studies on the involvement of ncRNAs in cerebral infarction/ischemia-reperfusion injury and neuroimmune inflammatory cascades, and elucidates the functions and mechanisms of cerebral infarction/ischemia-reperfusion-related ncRNAs, providing new opportunities for the discovery of disease biomarkers and targeted therapy. Furthermore, this review introduces clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)-Display as a possible transformative tool for studying lncRNAs. In the future, ncRNA is expected to be used as a target for diagnosing cerebral infarction/ischemia-reperfusion injury, judging its prognosis and treatment, thereby significantly improving the prognosis of patients.

Role of NAD+ and FAD in Ischemic Stroke Pathophysiology: An Epigenetic Nexus and Expanding Therapeutic Repertoire

The redox coenzymes viz., oxidized β-nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD⁺) and flavin adenine dinucleotide (FAD) by way of generation of optimal reducing power and cellular energy currency (ATP), control a staggering array of metabolic reactions. The prominent cellular contenders for NAD⁺ utilization, inter alia, are sirtuins (SIRTs) and poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP-1), which have been significantly implicated in ischemic stroke (IS) pathogenesis. NAD⁺ and FAD are also two crucial epigenetic enzyme-required metabolites mediating histone deacetylation and poly(ADP-ribosyl)ation through SIRTs and PARP-1 respectively, and demethylation through FAD-mediated lysine specific demethylase activity. These enzymes and post-translational modifications impinge on the components of neurovascular unit, primarily neurons, and elicit diverse functional upshots in an ischemic brain. These could be circumstantially linked with attendant cognitive deficits and behavioral outcomes in post-stroke epoch. Parsing out the contribution of NAD⁺/FAD-synthesizing and utilizing enzymes towards epigenetic remodeling in IS setting, together with their cognitive and behavioral associations, combined with possible therapeutic implications will form the crux of this review.

Expression profiles of microRNAs in midbrain of MPTP-treated mice determined by microRNA sequencing

MPTP models have been developed to mimic human Parkinson's disease and serve as an indispensable tool for studying PD. Among them, subacute MPTP PD models are popular due to their short modeling period and similarity to PD pathology. However, the early pathophysiological mechanism of the model remains to be further clarified. More and more studies have shown that dysregulation of miRNAs plays an important role in the occurrence and development of neurodegenerative diseases, including PD. In this study, we identified 43 differentially expressed microRNAs (miRNAs) in the ventral midbrain of MPTP-induced subacute PD mouse by RNA sequencing. Further bioinformatics analysis revealed that these miRNAs were significantly enriched in axon guidance/neuron projection, metabolic pathways/cellular macromolecule metabolic process and PI3K/AKT signaling pathways, which were involved in the occurrence and development of early PD. Thus, targeted regulation of these miRNAs may reverse the neurodegeneration of early PD.