title: Dichloroacetate treatment improves mitochondrial metabolism and reduces brain injury in neonatal mice.
abstract: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of dichloroacetate (DCA) treatment for brain injury in neonatal mice after hypoxia ischemia (HI) and the possible molecular mechanisms behind this effect. Postnatal day 9 male mouse pups were subjected to unilateral HI, DCA was injected intraperitoneally immediately after HI, and an additional two doses were administered at 24 h intervals. The pups were sacrificed 72 h after HI. Brain injury, as indicated by infarction volume, was reduced by 54.2% from 10.8 ± 1.9 mm3 in the vehicle-only control group to 5.0 ± 1.0 mm3 in the DCA-treated group at 72 h after HI (p = 0.008). DCA treatment also significantly reduced subcortical white matter injury as indicated by myelin basic protein staining (p = 0.018). Apoptotic cell death in the cortex, as indicated by counting the cells that were positive for apoptosis-inducing factor (p = 0.018) and active caspase-3 (p = 0.021), was significantly reduced after DCA treatment. The pyruvate dehydrogenase activity and the amount of acetyl-CoA in mitochondria was significantly higher after DCA treatment and HI (p = 0.039, p = 0.024). In conclusion, DCA treatment reduced neonatal mouse brain injury after HI, and this appears to be related to the elevated activation of pyruvate dehydrogenase and subsequent increase in mitochondrial metabolism as well as reduced apoptotic cell death.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Third Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Henan, China.|Center for Brain Repair and Rehabilitation, Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden.
authors.forename: Yanyan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Third Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Henan, China.|Center for Brain Repair and Rehabilitation, Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden.|Zhengzhou Children's Hospital, Zhengzhou, China.
authors.forename: Tao
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Center for Brain Repair and Rehabilitation, Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden.
authors.forename: Cuicui
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Xie
authors.affiliation: Center for Brain Repair and Rehabilitation, Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden.|Zhengzhou Children's Hospital, Zhengzhou, China.
authors.forename: Yaodong
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Center for Brain Repair and Rehabilitation, Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden.|Department of Women's and Children's Health, Karolinska University Hospital, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: Kai
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Third Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Henan, China.|Perinatal Center, Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden.
authors.forename: Xiaoyang
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Women's and Children's Health, Karolinska University Hospital, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: Klas
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Blomgren
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Third Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Henan, China.|Center for Brain Repair and Rehabilitation, Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden.|Henan Provincial Key Laboratory of Child Brain Injury, Zhengzhou, China.
authors.forename: Changlian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Zhu
mesh_terms: D000105:Acetyl Coenzyme A / Q000378:metabolism; D000818:Animals; D000831:Animals, Newborn; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000187:drug effects; D001343:Autophagy / Q000187:drug effects; D001921:Brain / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D001930:Brain Injuries / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D020169:Caspases / Q000378:metabolism; D019610:Cytoprotection; D003999:Dichloroacetic Acid / Q000494:pharmacology*; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D004734:Energy Metabolism / Q000187:drug effects*; D020925:Hypoxia-Ischemia, Brain / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D008297:Male; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D008928:Mitochondria / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D063154:Mitochondrial Dynamics / Q000187:drug effects; D018696:Neuroprotective Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D001678:Organelle Biogenesis; D011768:Pyruvate Dehydrogenase Complex / Q000378:metabolism; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D018696:Neuroprotective Agents; D011768:Pyruvate Dehydrogenase Complex; D000105:Acetyl Coenzyme A; D003999:Dichloroacetic Acid; D020169:Caspases
keywords: Pathology Section; apoptosis; autophagy; brain ischemia; mitochondria; pyruvate dehydrogenase