Apelin-13 attenuates early brain injury through inhibiting inflammation and apoptosis in rats after experimental subarachnoid hemorrhage.

Abstract

BACKGROUND:

Early brain injury (EBI) has been considered as the major contributor to the neurological dysfunction and poor clinical outcomes of subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH). Studies showed that apelin-13 exhibits a neuroprotective effect in brain damage induced by cerebral ischemia. However, it remains unclear whether apelin-13 could exhibit the protective functions following SAH. The present study aimed to validate the neuroprotective role of apelin-13 in SAH, and further investigated the underlying mechanisms.

METHODS AND RESULTS:

We constructed SAH rat model and we found that apelin-13 significantly alleviated neurological disorder and brain edema, improved memory deficits in SAH rats. Apelin-13 treatment decreased contents of TNF-α and IL-1β in cerebral spinal fluid of SAH rat by using ELISA. Apelin-13 treatment promoted the expression of APJ and Bcl-2, and decreased the level of active caspase-3 and Bax in the temporal cortex after SAH by using western blot. Also, apelin-13 attenuated the cortical cell death and neuronal degeneration as shown by TUNEL, FJB and Nissl staining. However, ML221, an inhibitor of APJ, significantly reversed all the above neuroprotective effects of apelin-13. Moreover, a neuron-microglia co-culture system, which mimic SAH in vitro, confirmed the protective effect of apelin-13 on neurons and the inhibitory effect on inflammation through apoptosis-related proteins.

CONCLUSIONS:

These data demonstrated that apelin-13 exhibit a neuroprotective role after SAH through inhibition of apoptosis in an APJ dependent manner.

• Authors: Xiaoyan Shen, Guiqiang Yuan, Bing Li, Cheng Cao, Demao Cao, Jiang Wu, Xiang Li, Haiying Li, Haitao Shen, Zhong Wang, Gang Chen
• Journal: Molecular biology reports (Mol Biol Rep) Vol. 49 Issue 3 Pg. 2107-2118 (Mar 2022) ISSN: 1573-4978 [Electronic] Netherlands
• PMID: 35000047 (Publication Type: Journal Article)
• Copyright: © 2022. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature B.V.

Chemical References

• Intercellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins
• Neuroprotective Agents
• apelin-13 peptide

Topics

• Animals
• Apoptosis
• Brain Injuries (drug therapy)
• Inflammation (drug therapy, metabolism)
• Intercellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins
• Neuroprotective Agents (pharmacology, therapeutic use)
• Rats
• Rats, Sprague-Dawley
• Subarachnoid Hemorrhage (complications, drug therapy, metabolism)