Galectin-1 attenuates astrogliosis-associated injuries and improves recovery of rats following focal cerebral ischemia.
Astrogliosis occurs after brain ischemia, and excessive astrogliosis can devastate the neuronal recovery. Previous reports show that galectin-1 (Gal-1) regulates proliferation of several cell types and plays an important role after nervous system injuries. Here, we found that expression of Gal-1 was remarkably up-regulated in activated astrocytes around ischemic infarct. Furthermore, under ischemic conditions either in vitro or in vivo, Gal-1 was found to inhibit the proliferation of astrocytes in a dose-dependent manner, attenuate astrogliosis and down-regulate the astrogliosis associated expression of nitric oxide synthase and interleukin-1β after the ischemia. All these changes were blocked by lactose, suggesting a lectin dependent manner of Gal-1's function. Moreover, 7-day Gal-1 treatment reduced apoptosis of neurons, decreased brain infarction volume and improved neurological function induced by the ischemia. Together, these findings indicate that through reducing astrogliosis related damages, Gal-1 is a potential therapeutical target for attenuating neuronal damage and promoting recovery of brain ischemia.
Department of Neurology, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China.
Wen-Sheng
WS
Qu
Yi-Hui
YH
Wang
Jun-Fang
JF
Ma
Dai-Shi
DS
Tian
Qiang
Q
Zhang
Deng-Ji
DJ
Pan
Zhi-Yuan
ZY
Yu
Min-Jie
MJ
Xie
Jian-Ping
JP
Wang
Wei
W
Wang
D000818:Animals; D001253:Astrocytes / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D002545:Brain Ischemia / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000378:metabolism*; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D037483:Galectin 1 / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000502:physiology* / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D005911:Gliosis / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D011897:Random Allocation; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D020127:Recovery of Function / Q000502:physiology*; D015854:Up-Regulation / Q000502:physiology
D037483:Galectin 1