title: Remote ischemic post-conditioning improves neurological function by AQP4 down-regulation in astrocytes.
abstract: Cerebral ischemia is a primary cause of human death and long-term disability. Previous studies have suggested that remote ischemic post-conditioning (RIPC) is a potential useful tool for cerebral ischemic treatment. However, the protective mechanism of RIPC is not very clear. This study verified the hypothesis that, in remote post-conditioning of cerebral ischemic rats, down-regulation of aquaporin 4 (AQP4), which is an important player for water hemostasis in astrocytes, could attenuate cerebral damage after transient middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO). In this study, RIPC model was established after MCAO. Each hind limb of rat was clamped by small rubber tubes for 10 min, and then the tubes were opened for 10 min. The clamping and opening were operated for a total of three cycles to block the hind limbs blood flow. The results showed that, RIPC could significantly improve neurological function, decrease the percentage of the infarct volume and edema, and elevate the integrity of blood-brain barrier (BBB). In addition, the numbers of AQP4 and glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) positive cells were significantly lower in the RIPC group. Moreover, we found that AQP4 expression decreased in response to ischemia/reperfusion in the RIPC group. Our findings indicated that RIPC could attenuate focal cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury, and the neuroprotective mechanism was related with the down-regulation of AQP4 in astrocytes.
authors.affiliation: Department of Morphology Lab, Chengdu Medical College, Sichuan 610500, China. Electronic address: 734862297@qq.com.
authors.forename: Shuai
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Morphology Lab, Chengdu Medical College, Sichuan 610500, China. Electronic address: woodwind@sohu.com.
authors.forename: Xiaosong
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.affiliation: Department of Morphology Lab, Chengdu Medical College, Sichuan 610500, China.
authors.forename: Mingxiao
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Morphology Lab, Chengdu Medical College, Sichuan 610500, China.
authors.forename: Fangfang
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.affiliation: Institute of Neuroscience, Kunming Medical University, Kunming 650031, China.
authors.forename: Na
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.affiliation: Institute of Neuroscience, Kunming Medical University, Kunming 650031, China.
authors.forename: Qingjie
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Xia
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy, Translational Neuroscience Center, Sichuan University, Sichuan 610041, China.
authors.forename: Yu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.affiliation: Department of Morphology Lab, Chengdu Medical College, Sichuan 610500, China.
authors.forename: Wenqian
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Qi
authors.affiliation: Department of Morphology Lab, Chengdu Medical College, Sichuan 610500, China.
authors.forename: Yonghua
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zong
authors.affiliation: Department of Morphology Lab, Chengdu Medical College, Sichuan 610500, China.
authors.forename: Huijun
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Institute of Neuroscience, Kunming Medical University, Kunming 650031, China; State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy, Translational Neuroscience Center, Sichuan University, Sichuan 610041, China. Electronic address: neuron@yahoo.com.cn.
authors.forename: Tinghua
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Wang
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000818:Animals; D051401:Aquaporin 4 / Q000378:metabolism*; D001253:Astrocytes / Q000378:metabolism*; D001812:Blood-Brain Barrier / Q000473:pathology; D001921:Brain / Q000098:blood supply* / Q000378:metabolism*; D002545:Brain Ischemia / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000628:therapy*; D015536:Down-Regulation; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D020244:Infarction, Middle Cerebral Artery; D057775:Ischemic Postconditioning; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D015427:Reperfusion Injury / Q000628:therapy
chemical_list: C496032:Aqp4 protein, rat; D051401:Aquaporin 4
keywords: Aquaporin 4; Cerebral ischemic stroke; Middle cerebral artery occlusion; Remote ischemic post-conditioning