Li-Ying Wu

Effects of hypoxia on the proliferation and differentiation of NSCs

Oxygen is vital to nearly all forms of life on Earth via its role in energy homeostasis and other cell functions. Until recently, the effects of oxygen on the proliferation and differentiation of neural stem cells (NSCs) have been largely ignored. Some studies have been carried out on the basis of the fact that NSCs exists within a “physiological hypoxic” environment at 1 to 5% O2 in both embryonic and adult brains. The results showed that hypoxia could promote the growth of NSCs and maintain its survival in vitro. In vivo studies also showed that ischemia/hypoxia increased the number of endogenous NSCs in the subventricular zone and dentate gyrus. In addition, hypoxia could influence the differentiation of NSCs. More neurons, especially more doparminergic neurons, were produced under hypoxic condition. The effects of hypoxia on the other kind of stem cell were briefly introduced as additional evidence. The mechanism of these responses might be primarily involved in the hypoxic inducible factor-1 (HIF-1) signal pathway. The present review summarizes recent works on the role of hypoxia in the proliferation and differentiation of NSCs both in vitro and in vivo, and the mechanism involved in HIF-1 signaling pathway behind this response was also discussed.

Neurogenesis in the adult rat brain after intermittent hypoxia

Intermittent hypoxia has been found to prevent brain injury and to have a protective role in the CNS. To address the possible causes of this phenomenon, we made investigative effort to find out whether intermittent hypoxia affects neurogenesis in the adult rat brain by examining the newly divided cells in the subventricular zone (SVZ) and dentate gyrus (DG). The adult rats were treated with 3000 and 5000 m high altitude 4 h per day for 2 weeks consecutively. 5-Bromo-2-deoxyuridine-5-monophosphate (BrdU) immunocytochemistry demonstrated that the BrdU-labeled cells in the SVZ and DG increased after 3000 and 5000 m intermittent hypoxia. The number of BrdU-labeled cells in the SVZ returned to normal level 4 weeks following intermittent hypoxia. However, the BrdU-labeled cells in the DG had a twofold increase 4 weeks subsequent to intermittent hypoxia. From these data, we conclude that intermittent hypoxia facilitates the proliferation of neural stem cells in situ, and that the newly divided cells in the SVZ and DG react differently to hypoxia. We are convinced by these findings that the proliferation of neural stem cells in SVZ and DG may contribute to adaptive changes following intermittent hypoxia.

Hypoxia‐driven proliferation of embryonic neural stem/progenitor cells – role of hypoxia‐inducible transcription factor‐1α

We recently reported that intermittent hypoxia facilitated the proliferation of neural stem/progenitor cells (NPCs) in the subventricule zone and hippocampus in vivo. Here, we demonstrate that hypoxia promoted the proliferation of NPCs in vitro and that hypoxia‐inducible factor (HIF)‐1α, which is one of the key molecules in the response to hypoxia, was critical in this process. NPCs were isolated from the rat embryonic mesencephalon (E13.5), and exposed to different oxygen concentrations (20% O2, 10% O2, and 3% O2) for 3 days. The results showed that hypoxia, especially 10% O2, promoted the proliferation of NPCs as assayed by bromodeoxyuridine incorporation, neurosphere formation, and proliferation index. The level of HIF‐1α mRNA and protein expression detected by RT‐PCR and western blot significantly increased in NPCs subjected to 10% O2. To further elucidate the potential role of HIF‐1α in the proliferation of NPCs induced by hypoxia, an adenovirus construct was used to overexpress HIF‐1α, and the pSilencer 1.0‐U6 plasmid as RNA interference vector targeting HIF‐1α mRNA was used to knock down HIF‐1α. We found that overexpression of HIF‐1α caused the same proliferative effect on NPCs under 20% O2 as under 10% O2. In contrast, knockdown of HIF‐1α inhibited NPC proliferation induced by 10% O2. These results demonstrated that moderate hypoxia was more beneficial to NPC proliferation and that HIF‐1α was critical in this process.

Involvement of increased stability of mitochondrial membrane potential and overexpression of Bcl-2 in enhanced anoxic tolerance induced by hypoxic preconditioning in cultured hypothalamic neurons.

The effects of hypoxic preconditioning (HP) on changes in mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) and Bcl-2 expression in cultured hypothalamic neurons after severe anoxia were investigated. In the HP group, hypothalamic neurons, after a 4-day culture, were preconditioned daily under a hypoxic condition (1% O(2), 10 min) for 8 days; subsequently, the HP neurons and those in the control group (similarly cultured, but without HP) were exposed to 6 h of severe anoxia (0% O(2)). The preconditioned neurons had a higher survival rate and a lower lactate dehydrogenase leakage, compared with the control group. Although HP did not prevent the degradation of MMP during severe hypoxia, preconditioned neurons exhibited a higher level of MMP than that of the control group. Increased expression of Bcl-2 was also observed in the preconditioned hypothalamic neurons. These results suggest that HP enhances the hypoxic tolerance of hypothalamic neurons, and the underlying mechanisms may be related to the increased stability of MMP and the overexpression of Bcl-2 induced by HP.

miR-210 suppresses BNIP3 to protect against the apoptosis of neural progenitor cells.

MiR-210 is a hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF)-1 target gene and is the most consistently and predominantly upregulated miRNA in response to hypoxia in various cancer cell lines. Our recent study shows that hypoxia increased miR-210 expression in neural progenitor cells (NPCs) in a time-dependent manner. However, the role of miR-210 in NPCs remains unknown. Following the identification of the miR-210 putative target genes, we demonstrated that the Bcl-2 adenovirus E1B 19kDa-interacting protein 3 (BNIP3), which is regulated by HIF-1 and activates cell death, is regulated by miR-210 in NPCs under hypoxia. Moreover, the over-expression of miR-210 decreased apoptosis in NPCs, and the inhibition of miR-210 expression remarkably increased the number of TUNEL-positive NPCs by 30% in response to hypoxia. Importantly, miR-210 mimics reduced both BNIP3 protein expression and the translocation of AIF into the nucleus, which reduced cell death, whereas miR-210 inhibitors reversed this process, leading to cell death during hypoxia. Taken together, we report a novel feedback loop of BNIP3 regulation in NPCs under hypoxia. HIF-1 is activated under hypoxia and then induces the expression of both BNIP3 and miR-210. The upregulation of miR-210 then directly suppresses BNIP3 expression to maintain the survival of NPCs under hypoxia. This negative feedback regulation might partially contribute to protection against hypoxia-induced cell death via the inhibition of AIF nuclear translocation.

New 3',8''-linked biflavonoids from Selaginella uncinata displaying protective effect against anoxia.

Seven 3′,8′′-linked bioflavonoids, including one new compound, (2′′S)-2′′, 3′′-dihydroamentoflavone-4′-methyl ether (1) and six known compounds: (2S)-2,3- dihydroamentoflavone-4′-methyl ether (2), (2S,2′′S)-2,3,2′′,3′′-tetrahydroamento- flavone-4′-methyl ether (3), (2S,2′′S)-tetrahydroamentoflavone (4), (2S)-2,3-dihydro- amentoflavone (5) and (2′′S)-2′′,3′′-dihydroamentoflavone (6) and amentoflavone (7), were isolated from the 60% ethanolic extract of Selaginella uncinata (Desv.) Spring. The structures of these compounds were elucidated mainly by analysis of their 1D and 2D NMR spectroscopic data, and their absolute configurations were determined by circular-dichroism (CD) spectroscopy. All the seven compounds showed protective effect against anoxia in the anoxic PC12 cells assay, in which compound 6 displayed particularly potent activity.

DNA demethylation regulates the expression of miR‐210 in neural progenitor cells subjected to hypoxia

Several studies have identified a set of hypoxia‐regulated microRNAs, among which is miR‐210, whose expression is highly induced by hypoxia in various cancer cell lines. Recent studies have highlighted the importance of miR‐210 and its transcriptional regulation by the transcription factor hypoxia‐inducible factor‐1 (HIF‐1). We report here that the expression of miR‐210 was highly induced in neural progenitor cells (NPCs) subjected to hypoxia. Specifically, treating hypoxic NPCs with the DNA demethylating agent 5‐aza‐2′‐deoxycytidine significantly increased the expression of miR‐210, even under normoxia; however, the activity of hypoxia‐inducible factor‐1 was unaffected. Further analysis of the miR‐210 sequence revealed that it is embedded in a CpG island. Bisulfite sequencing of the miR‐210 CpG island from NPCs grown under hypoxic conditions showed 24% CpG methylation in NPCs exposed to 20% O2, 18% in NPCs exposed to 3% O2, and 12% in NPCs exposed to 0.3% O2. In addition, the activity of DNA methyltransferases (DNMTs) in NPCs decreased after exposure to hypoxia. Specifically, the expression of DNMT3b decreased significantly after exposure to 0.3% O2. Thus, these results demonstrate that DNA demethylation regulates miR‐210 expression in NPCs under both normoxia and hypoxia.

Methylene Blue Reduces Acute Cerebral Ischemic Injury via the Induction of Mitophagy.

The treatment of stroke is limited by a short therapeutic window and a lack of effective clinical drugs. Methylene blue (MB) has been used in laboratories and clinics since the 1890s. Few studies have reported the neuroprotective role of MB in cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury. However, whether and how MB protects against acute cerebral ischemia (ACI) injury was unclear. In this study, we investigated the effect of MB on this injury and revealed that MB protected against ACI injury by augmenting mitophagy. Using a rat middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) model, we demonstrated that MB improved neurological function and reduced the infarct volume and necrosis after ACI injury. These improvements depended on the effect of MB on mitochondrial structure and function. ACI caused the disorder and disintegration of mitochondrial structure, while MB ameliorated the destruction of mitochondria. In addition, mitophagy was inhibited at 24 h after stroke and MB augmented mitophagy. In an oxygen-glucose deprivation (OGD) model in vitro, we further revealed that the elevation of mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) by MB under OGD conditions mediated the augmented mitophagy. In contrast, exacerbating the decline of MMP during OGD abolished the MB-induced activation of mitophagy. Taken together, MB promotes mitophagy by maintaining the MMP at a relatively high level, which contributes to a decrease in necrosis and an improvement in neurological function, thereby protecting against ACI injury.

CHL1 negatively regulates the proliferation and neuronal differentiation of neural progenitor cells through activation of the ERK1/2 MAPK pathway.

Neural recognition molecules of the immunoglobulin superfamily play important roles in the development and regeneration of nervous system. Close Homologue of L1 (CHL1) is a member of the L1 family of recognition molecules which are expressed during neuronal development, suggesting a potential role in neural progenitor cells (NPCs). Here, we investigated the role of CHL1 in the proliferation and differentiation of NPCs both in vivo and in vitro, and the possible mechanism involved. The number of BrdU-positive cells in the subventricular zone (SVZ) significantly increased in CHL1-/- mice compared with CHL1+/+ mice. Moreover, there were more Tuj1-positive cells in the cortical plate region in CHL1-/- mice than in CHL1+/+ controls. To further examine the function of CHL1 in the proliferation and differentiation of NPCs, NPCs from CHL1-/- mice versus littermate wild-type mice were isolated and cultured in vitro. NPCs derived from CHL1-/- mice showed increased proliferation and self-renewal ability compared with CHL1+/+ mice. In the course of differentiation, CHL1 deficiency enhanced neuronal differentiation in the absence of growth factors. Furthermore, CHL1 deficiency on the proliferation of NPCs is accompanied by means of enhanced activation of ERK1/2 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) and the inhibitor of ERK1/2 MAPK eliminates the effect of CHL1 deficiency on the proliferation of NPCs. Our results first describe the negative modulation of the proliferation and neuronal differentiation of NPCs by CHL1/ERK1/2 MAPK signaling.

Four new biflavonoids from Selaginella uncinata and their anti-anoxic effect

The 60% ethanolic extract of Selaginella uncinata (Desv.) Spring possessed potent anti-anoxic effect in the anoxic PC12 cell assay. A phytochemical study of its EtOAc-soluble part led to the isolation of four new and three known biflavonoids. Their structures were established on the basis of physico-chemical properties and spectroscopic analysis. The absolute configurations of the new compounds were determined with the aid of circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopy. Compounds 4 and 5 showed potent anti-anoxic effect in the anoxic PC12 cell assay.