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The polarization of microglia/macrophages after cerebral ischemia is critical for post-stroke damage/recovery. Previously, we found that pseudoginsenoside-F11 (PF11), an ocotillol-type saponin, has neuroprotective effects on permanent and transient cerebral ischemia in rats. This study aimed to investigate the effects and potential mechanisms of PF11 on microglia/macrophage polarization following transient cerebral ischemia in rats. In vivo data showed that oral administration of PF11 (12 mg/kg) significantly attenuated cognitive deficits and sensorimotor dysfunction, infarct volume and brain edema in transient middle cerebral artery occlusion (tMCAO)-treated rats, as well as reduced the loss of neurons and the over-activation of microglia in penumbra of ipsilateral striatum and cortex. Notably, the proportion of M2 microglia/macrophages in the total activated microglia/macrophages peaked on day 14 after tMCAO in rats, while PF11 promoted its peak advancing to day 3 post-tMCAO, which allowing the damaged brain to enter the repair period more quickly. Furthermore, PF11 increased the expression of anti-inflammatory markers and decreased the expression of pro-inflammatory markers in ipsilateral striatum and cortex. In addition, in vitro data showed that PF11 inhibited the induction of M1 microglia by oxygen glucose deprivation/re-oxygenation (OGD/R)-induced neurons, and promoted the polarization of microglia to M2 phenotype in a Jumonji domain-containing protein 3 (Jmjd3)-dependent manner. Moreover, PF11 promoted the protection of M2 microglia and attenuated the exacerbation of M1 microglia on OGD/R-induced neuronal damage. Taken together, these results indicate that PF11 protects ischemic neurons by promoting M2 microglia/macrophage polarization in a Jmjd3-dependent manner, ultimately facilitating the functional recovery following transient cerebral ischemia.

Pseudoginsenoside-F11 (PF11), an ocotillol-type saponin, has neuroprotective effects on permanent and transient cerebral ischemia in rats by alleviating autophagic/lysosomal defects and repressing calcium overload, respectively. Ischemic stroke triggers peripheral innate immune cells, mainly neutrophils and macrophages, to infiltrate the damaged brain. The polarization of neutrophils and macrophages after cerebral ischemia is essential for post-stroke damage/recovery. However, it remains elusive whether PF11 ameliorates ischemic neuron injury by regulating the polarization of neutrophils and macrophages. The present study demonstrated for the first time that conditioned media from ischemic neurons induced neutrophils and macrophages to polarize into N1 and M1 phenotypes, respectively. Furthermore, PF11 (30, 100 μM) inhibited the induction of N1 neutrophils by conditioned media from oxygen glucose deprivation/re-oxygenation (OGD/R)-induced ischemic neurons and promoted the polarization of neutrophils to N2 phenotypes. In addition, PF11 (100 μM) attenuated the exacerbation of N1 neutrophils and facilitated the protection of N2 neutrophils on OGD/R-induced neuronal damage. Similarly, PF11 (100 μM) inhibited the induction of M1 macrophages by conditioned media from ischemic neurons and facilitated the polarization of macrophages to M2 phenotypes. What's more, PF11 (100 μM) attenuated the aggravation of M1 macrophages and promoted the protection of M2 macrophages on OGD/R-induced primary neuron injury. In summary, the present study indicates that PF11 ameliorates ischemic neuron damage by regulating neutrophils and macrophages polarization, suggesting that neutrophils and macrophages may be promising targets for the treatment of cerebral ischemia.

Oxidative stress and neuroinflammation are thought to be the two key early events during the process of mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Therefore, effective regulation of oxidative stress and neuroinflammation is an important aspect of preventing and improving MCI. We previously found that pseudoginsenoside-F11 (PF11), an ocotillol-type saponin, markedly reduced cognitive impairment in APP/PS1 mice and oAβ1–42-injected mice. In the present study, we further evaluate the effect of PF11 on learning and memory dysfunction in d ‑galactose ( d ‑gal)-treated mice model of MCI. C57BL/6 mice received daily subcutaneous injections of d ‑gal (100 mg/kg) and oral administration of PF11 (2, 4, 8, 16 mg/kg) for 9 weeks. We observed that PF11 significantly alleviated d ‑gal-induced cognitive impairment, attenuated the loss of neuron and the over-activation of microglia in hippocampus of d ‑gal-treated mice. The elevated levels of nod-like receptor protein 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome in hippocampus of d ‑gal-treated mice were reduced by PF11 through reducing the accumulation of advanced glycation endproducts (AGEs) and the expression of the receptor of advanced glycation endproducts (RAGE). Moreover, PF11 significantly decreased H2O2 and malondialdehyde (MDA) levels, improved superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity and increased glutathione (GSH) level in d ‑gal-treated mice. Finally, d ‑gal treatment reduced the level of nuclear factor erythroid-related factor 2 (Nrf2) and glutathione S-transferase (GST) in hippocampus, which could reverse by PF11. Together, our findings indicated that PF11 exerts a protective effect against MCI-like pathological changes.

Neutrophils have been traditionally considered as the major mediators of harmful inflammatory responses in ischemic stroke, whereas accumulating evidence indicates that neutrophils can be polarized into an N2 phenotype. Similar to M2 microglia, N2 neutrophils contribute to resolution of inflammation and may participate in neuroprotection. However, it remains unclear whether N2 neutrophils protect ischemic neurons and whether they are associated with long-term outcomes after transient cerebral ischemia in rats. The present study proved that N2 neutrophils protected against oxygen glucosedeprivation/re-oxygenation (OGD/R)-induced primary cortical neuron injury via brain-derived neurotrophic factor/tropomyosin-related kinase B (BDNF/TrkB) signaling. In addition, in vivo studies revealed that transient middle cerebral artery occlusion (tMCAO)-induced injury exhibited spontaneous recovery over time in rats. Moreover, neutrophils could infiltrate the ipsilateral brain parenchyma from the periphery after transient cerebral ischemia. Pearson's correlation analysis indicated that the proportion of N2 neutrophils in ipsilateral brain parenchyma was negatively correlated with the number of degenerating neurons, modified Neurological Severity Score (mNSS), brain water content and infarct volume, and positively correlated with the number of surviving neurons and grip strength. In summary, the present study shows that N2 neutrophils likely participate in spontaneous recovery after transient cerebral ischemia by inhibiting ischemic neuron damage in rats, which indicates that N2 neutrophils may represent promising therapeutic target for promoting recovery after ischemic stroke.

Excessive activation of microglial cells has been implicated in various neuroinflammation. The present study showed that sildenafil, a PDE5 inhibitor, significantly suppressed NO, interleukin 1β (IL-1β) and tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α) production induced by LPS in microglial cells through decreasing the protein and/or mRNA expressions of inducible NO synthase (iNOS), IL-1β and TNF-α in a concentration-dependent manner. Sildenafil also blocked IκBα phosphorylation and degradation, inhibited the phosphorylation of mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs), extracellular signal-regulated kinases 1 and 2 (ERK1/2), p38 MAPK, and c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK). Moreover, the increase of the expression of gp91phox, a critical and catalytic subunit of NADPH oxidase, and the levels of intracellular reactive oxygen species (iROS) induced by LPS were markedly inhibited by sildenafil. In summary, these data suggest that sildenafil exerts its in vitro anti-inflammatory effect in LPS-activated N9 microglial cells by blocking nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) and MAPKs activation, which may be partly due to its potent down-regulation of the NADPH-derived iROS production.

Our previous report has showed that demethoxycurcumin (DMC), a natural derivative of curcumin (Cur), exhibited stronger inhibitory activity on nitric oxide (NO) and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) production compared with Cur in lipopolysaccharide (LPS) activated rat primary microglia. In the present study, the effect and possible mechanism of DMC on the production of pro-inflammatory mediators in LPS-activated N9 microglial cells were further investigated. The results showed that DMC significantly suppressed the NO production induced by LPS in N9 microglial cells through inhibiting the protein and mRNA expression of inducible NO synthase (iNOS). DMC also decreased LPS-induced TNF-alpha and IL-1beta expression at both transcriptional and protein level in a concentration-dependent manner. Further studies revealed that DMC blocked IkappaBalpha phosphorylation and degradation, inhibited the phosphorylation of mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs). Moreover, the level of intracellular reactive oxygen species (iROS) was significantly increased by LPS, which is mainly mediated by the up-regulated expression of gp91phox, the catalytic subunit of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate reduced (NADPH) oxidase. Both DMC and Cur could markedly decrease iROS production and the expression of NADPH oxidase induced by LPS, with more potent inhibitory activity of DMC. In summary, these data suggest that DMC exerts its in vitro anti-inflammatory effect in LPS-activated N9 microglial cells by blocking nuclear factor-kappaB (NF-kappaB) and MAPKs activation, which may be partly due to its potent down-regulation of the NADPH-derived iROS production.

Formyl peptide receptor 1 (FPR1) plays an important role in the rapid progression of glioblastoma and has been considered as a molecular target for the treatment. Previously, we have shown that oligomer proanthocyanidins (F2, degree of polymerization 2-15), isolated from grape seeds, inhibited FPR1-mediated chemotaxis of U-87 glioblastoma cells. In the present study, we investigated the capacity of F2 to interact with FPR1. The cross attenuation of chemotaxis revealed that F2 shared FPR1 with formyl-methionyl-leucyl-phenylalanine (fMLF), which is a prototype agonist of FPR1. F2 was chemotactic for U-87 cells, and the chemotactic response was abolished when FPR1 gene was silenced or FPR1 was competitively occupied. We further show that F2 specifically blocked the binding of fluorescent agonist to FPR1. Interestingly, F2 exhibited the characteristic of a partial agonist for FPR1, as shown by its capacity to activate FPR1-mediated PI3K-PKC-MAPK pathways. Meanwhile, F2 also attenuated fMLF-triggered MAPK activation, suggesting that F2 could antagonize the effect of an agonist. Furthermore, F2 abolished the invasion of U-87 cells induced by fMLF. Thus, we have identified F2 as a novel, partial agonist for FPR1, which may be useful for glioblastoma therapy.