title: Relationship between HIF-1alpha expression and neuronal apoptosis in neonatal rats with hypoxia-ischemia brain injury.
abstract: Hypoxia inducible factor-1alpha (HIF-1alpha) plays an important role in maintaining oxygen equilibrium. Pathologic conditions such as hypoxia or ischemia have been reported to cause cellular apoptosis as well as to regulate HIF-1alpha. However, the relationship between HIF-1alpha and neuronal apoptosis in neonatal rats with hypoxia-ischemia brain injury is unclear. We hypothesized that HIF-1alpha will be differentially regulated depending upon the stimuli, such as hypoxia alone versus hypoxia-ischemia (HI), and thus play a role in neuronal apoptosis in developing rat brain. To test this hypothesis, we subjected postnatal day 10 (P10) rats to either hypoxia (8%O(2) and 92%N(2) for 2.5 h) or HI (ligating the right common carotid artery followed by hypoxia). Rat brains from hypoxia, HI, and sham controls were collected to detect HIF-1alpha expression and cellular apoptosis using immunohistochemistry, Western blot analysis, and TdT-mediated dUTP-biotin nick end labeling (TUNEL). We found that HIF-1alpha expression was upregulated at 4 h, peaked at 8 h, and declined at 24 h after hypoxia/HI compared with sham controls. Moreover, HIF-1alpha expression was significantly stronger in hypoxia-alone-treated rats than that in HI-treated rats. Meanwhile, we found that cellular apoptosis was more severe in HI-treated rats than that in hypoxia-treated rats. Furthermore, cellular apoptosis was prominent at 24 h in either hypoxia or HI but more severe in HI-treated rats. Our findings that cellular apoptosis increases with downregulation of HIF-1alpha suggest that HIF-1alpha may play a protective role in regulating cellular apoptosis in neonatal hypoxia-ischemia brain damage (HIBD).
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, West China Second University Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan 610041, China.
authors.forename: Lihua
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Yi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Qu
authors.forename: Jinhui
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Ying
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Xiong
authors.forename: Meng
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mao
authors.forename: Dezhi
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Mu
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000831:Animals, Newborn; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000502:physiology*; D001930:Brain Injuries / Q000209:etiology / Q000378:metabolism; D053148:Caspase 3 / Q000378:metabolism; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism; D015536:Down-Regulation; D005260:Female; D051795:Hypoxia-Inducible Factor 1, alpha Subunit / Q000378:metabolism*; D020925:Hypoxia-Ischemia, Brain / Q000150:complications / Q000378:metabolism*; D008297:Male; D009474:Neurons / Q000378:metabolism*; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: C497444:Hif1a protein, rat; D051795:Hypoxia-Inducible Factor 1, alpha Subunit; D053148:Caspase 3