title: Deletion of aquaporin-4 is neuroprotective during the acute stage of micro traumatic brain injury in mice.
abstract: Micro traumatic brain injury (TBI) is the most common type of brain injury, but the mechanisms underlying it are poorly understood. Aquaporin-4 (AQP4) is a water channel expressed in astrocyte end-feet, which plays an important role in brain edema. However, little is known about the role of AQP4 in micro TBI. Here, we examined the role of AQP4 in the pathogenesis of micro TBI in a closed-skull brain injury model, using two-photon microscopy. Our results indicate that AQP4 deletion reduced cell death, water content, astrocyte swelling and lesion volume during the acute stage of micro TBI. Our data revealed that astrocyte swelling is a decisive pathophysiological factor in the acute phase of this form of micro brain injury. Thus, treatments that inhibit AQP4 could be used as a neuroprotective strategy for micro TBI.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, National Key Clinical Department and Key Discipline of Neurology, Guangdong Key Laboratory for Diagnosis and Treatment of Major Neurological Diseases, The First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510080, China.
authors.forename: Fengyin
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Liang
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Quality Research in Chinese Medicine, Institute of Chinese Medical Sciences, University of Macau, Macao 999078, China.
authors.forename: Chuanming
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Luo
authors.affiliation: Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510080, China.
authors.forename: Guangqing
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, National Key Clinical Department and Key Discipline of Neurology, Guangdong Key Laboratory for Diagnosis and Treatment of Major Neurological Diseases, The First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510080, China.
authors.forename: Fengjuan
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Su
authors.affiliation: Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510080, China.
authors.forename: Xiaofei
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: He
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, National Key Clinical Department and Key Discipline of Neurology, Guangdong Key Laboratory for Diagnosis and Treatment of Major Neurological Diseases, The First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510080, China.
authors.forename: Simei
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Long
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Quality Research in Chinese Medicine, Institute of Chinese Medical Sciences, University of Macau, Macao 999078, China.
authors.forename: Huixia
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ren
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, National Key Clinical Department and Key Discipline of Neurology, Guangdong Key Laboratory for Diagnosis and Treatment of Major Neurological Diseases, The First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510080, China.
authors.forename: Yaning
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, National Key Clinical Department and Key Discipline of Neurology, Guangdong Key Laboratory for Diagnosis and Treatment of Major Neurological Diseases, The First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510080, China. Electronic address: fyqgz@vip.sina.com.
authors.forename: Yanqing
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Feng
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, National Key Clinical Department and Key Discipline of Neurology, Guangdong Key Laboratory for Diagnosis and Treatment of Major Neurological Diseases, The First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510080, China. Electronic address: peizhong@mail.sysu.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Zhong
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Pei
mesh_terms: D000208:Acute Disease; D000818:Animals; D051401:Aquaporin 4 / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D001253:Astrocytes / Q000473:pathology; D001812:Blood-Brain Barrier / Q000378:metabolism; D001929:Brain Edema / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D001930:Brain Injuries / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D016923:Cell Death; D048429:Cell Size; D016489:Head Injuries, Closed / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D018345:Mice, Knockout; D017628:Microglia / Q000473:pathology
chemical_list: D051401:Aquaporin 4
keywords: Acute stage; Aquaporin-4 (AQP4); Cerebral edema; Micro traumatic brain injury