title: The roles of p38 MAPK/MSK1 signaling pathway in the neuroprotection of hypoxic postconditioning against transient global cerebral ischemia in adult rats.
abstract: Postconditioning has regenerated interest as a mechanical intervention against cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury, but its molecular mechanisms remain unknown. We previously reported that hypoxic postconditioning (HPC) ameliorated neuronal death induced by transient global cerebral ischemia (tGCI) in hippocampal CA1 subregion of adult rats. This study tested the hypothesis that p38-mitogen-activated protein kinase (p38 MAPK)/mitogen- and stress-response kinase 1 (MSK1) signaling pathway plays a role in the HPC-induced neuroprotection. Male Wistar rats were subjected to 10 min ischemia induced by applying the four-vessel occlusion method. HPC with 120 min was applied at 24 h after reperfusion. Immunohistochemistry and Western blot were used to detect the expression of phosphorylation of p38 MAPK and MSK1, as well as cleaved caspase-3. We found that HPC induced a significant increase of phosphorylated p38 MAPK and MSK1 in neurons of hippocampal CA1 region and a significant decrease in glial cells after tGCI as well. Furthermore, HPC attenuated caspase-3 cleavation triggered by tGCI in CA1 region. Moreover, p38 MAPK inhibition by SB203580 significantly decreased the phosphorylation of MSK1, increased cleaved caspase-3 expression, and abolished the neuroprotection of HPC. These findings suggested that p38 MAPK/MSK1 signaling axis contributed to HPC-mediated neuroprotection against tGCI, at least in part, by regulating the activation of caspase-3.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Neurosciences and the Second Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University; Key Laboratory of Neurogenetics and Channelopathies of Guangdong Province and the Ministry of Education of China, 250 Changgang Dong RD, Guangzhou, 510260, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Pingping
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.forename: Lixuan
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zhan
authors.forename: Tingna
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.forename: Donghai
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Liang
authors.forename: Jiaoyue
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.forename: Weiwen
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.forename: Qinghua
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Hou
authors.forename: Huarong
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.forename: Baoxing
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Yanmei
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: En
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Xu
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D000818:Animals; D000860:Hypoxia / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000473:pathology; D002546:Ischemic Attack, Transient / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000517:prevention & control; D057775:Ischemic Postconditioning / Q000379:methods; D020935:MAP Kinase Signaling System / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D038744:Ribosomal Protein S6 Kinases, 90-kDa / Q000502:physiology*; D048051:p38 Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D038744:Ribosomal Protein S6 Kinases, 90-kDa; C116919:mitogen and stress-activated protein kinase 1; D048051:p38 Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases