Generic placeholder image

Current Pharmaceutical Design

Editor-in-Chief

ISSN (Print): 1381-6128
ISSN (Online): 1873-4286

General Research Article

Tetramethylpyrazine Attenuates Oxygen-glucose Deprivation-induced Neuronal Damage through Inhibition of the HIF-1α/BNIP3 Pathway: from Network Pharmacological Finding to Experimental Validation

Author(s): Shixin Xu*, Nannan Zhang, Lanlan Cao, Lu Liu, Hao Deng, Shengyu Hua and Yunsha Zhang

Volume 29, Issue 7, 2023

Published on: 13 March, 2023

Page: [543 - 554] Pages: 12

DOI: 10.2174/1381612829666230215100507

Price: $65

conference banner
Abstract

Aims: A network pharmacological analysis combined with experimental validation was used to investigate the neuroprotective mechanism of the natural product Tetramethylpyrazine (TMP).

Background: Protecting neurons is critical for acute ischemic stroke treatment. Tetramethylpyrazine is a bioactive component extracted from Chuanxiong. The neuroprotective potential of TMP has been reported, but a systematic analysis of its mechanism has not been performed.

Objective: Based on the hints of network pharmacology and bioinformatics analysis, the mechanism by which TMP alleviates oxygen-glucose deprivation-induced neuronal damage through inhibition of the HIF-1α/BNIP3 pathway was verified.

Methods: In this study, we initially used network pharmacology and bioinformatics analyses to elucidate the mechanisms involved in TMP's predictive targets on a system level. The HIF-1α/BNIP3 pathway mediating the cellular response to hypoxia and apoptosis was considered worthy of focus in the bioinformatic analysis. An oxygen-glucose deprivation (OGD)-induced PC12 cell injury model was established for functional and mechanical validation. Cell viability, lactate dehydrogenase leakage, intracellular reactive oxygen species, percentage of apoptotic cells, and Caspase-3 activity were determined to assess the TMP's protective effects. Transfection with siRNA/HIF-1α or pcDNA/HIF-1α plasmids to silence or overexpress hypoxia-inducible factor 1α (HIF-1α). The role of HIF-1α in OGD-injured cells was observed first. After that, TMP's regulation of the HIF-1α/BNIP3 pathway was investigated. The pcDNA3.1/HIF-1α-positive plasmids were applied in rescue experiments.

Results: The results showed that TMP dose-dependently attenuated OGD-induced cell injury. The expression levels of HIF-1α, BNIP3, and the Bax/Bcl-2 increased significantly with increasing OGD duration. Overexpression of HIF-1α decreased cell viability, increased BNIP3 expression, and Bax/Bcl-2 ratio; siRNA-HIF-1α showed the opposite effect. TMP treatment suppressed HIF-1α, BNIP3 expression, and the Bax/Bcl-2 ratio and was reversed by HIF-1α overexpression.

Conclusion: Our study shows that TMP protects OGD-damaged PC12 cells by inhibiting the HIF-1α/BNIP3 pathway, which provides new insights into the mechanism of TMP and its neuroprotective potential.

Keywords: Tetramethylpyrazine, neuroprotection, oxygen-glucose deprivation, hypoxia-inducible factor 1α, apoptosis, ROS.

[1]
Kassebaum NJ, Arora M, Barber RM, et al. Global, regional, and national disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs) for 315 diseases and injuries and healthy life expectancy (HALE), 1990-2015: A systematic analysis for the global burden of disease study 2015. Lancet 2016; 388(10053): 1603-58.
[http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(16)31460-X] [PMID: 27733283]
[2]
Moskowitz MA, Lo EH, Iadecola C. The science of stroke: Mechanisms in search of treatments. Neuron 2010; 67(2): 181-98.
[http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.neuron.2010.07.002] [PMID: 20670828]
[3]
Baron JC. Protecting the ischaemic penumbra as an adjunct to thrombectomy for acute stroke. Nat Rev Neurol 2018; 14(6): 325-37.
[http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41582-018-0002-2] [PMID: 29674752]
[4]
Chen Z, Zhang C, Gao F, et al. A systematic review on the rhizome of Ligusticum chuanxiong Hort (Chuanxiong). Food Chem Toxicol 2018; 119: 309-25.
[http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.fct.2018.02.050] [PMID: 29486278]
[5]
Zhao Y, Liu Y, Chen K. Mechanisms and clinical application of tetramethylpyrazine (an interesting natural compound isolated from Ligusticum wallichii): Current status and perspective. Oxid Med Cell Longev 2016; 2016: 1-9.
[http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2016/2124638] [PMID: 27668034]
[6]
Guo M, Liu Y, Shi D. Cardiovascular actions and therapeutic potential of tetramethylpyrazine (active component isolated from Rhizoma chuanxiong): Roles and mechanisms. Bio Med Res Int 2016; 2016: 1-9.
[http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2016/2430329]
[7]
Ran X, Ma L, Peng C, Zhang H, Qin LP. Ligusticum chuanxiong Hort: A review of chemistry and pharmacology. Pharm Biol 2011; 49(11): 1180-9.
[http://dx.doi.org/10.3109/13880209.2011.576346] [PMID: 22014266]
[8]
Lin J, Wang Q, Zhou S, Xu S, Yao K. Tetramethylpyrazine: A review on its mechanisms and functions. Biomed Pharmacother 2022; 150: 113005.
[http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.biopha.2022.113005] [PMID: 35483189]
[9]
Tsai TH, Liang CC. Pharmacokinetics of tetramethylpyrazine in rat blood and brain using microdialysis. Int J Pharm 2001; 216(1-2): 61-6.
[http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0378-5173(01)00572-5] [PMID: 11274807]
[10]
Meng D, Lu H, Huang S, et al. Comparative pharmacokinetics of tetramethylpyrazine phosphate in rat plasma and extracellular fluid of brain after intranasal, intragastric and intravenous administration. Acta Pharm Sin B 2014; 4(1): 74-8.
[http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.apsb.2013.12.009] [PMID: 26579367]
[11]
Kao TK, Chang CY, Ou YC, et al. Tetramethylpyrazine reduces cellular inflammatory response following permanent focal cerebral ischemia in rats. Exp Neurol 2013; 247: 188-201.
[http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.expneurol.2013.04.010] [PMID: 23644042]
[12]
Chang CY, Kao TK, Chen WY, et al. Tetramethylpyrazine inhibits neutrophil activation following permanent cerebral ischemia in rats. Biochem Biophys Res Commun 2015; 463(3): 421-7.
[http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.bbrc.2015.05.088] [PMID: 26043690]
[13]
Gong P, Zhang Z, Zou Y, et al. Tetramethylpyrazine attenuates blood-brain barrier disruption in ischemia/reperfusion injury through the JAK/STAT signaling pathway. Eur J Pharmacol 2019; 854: 289-97.
[http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ejphar.2019.04.028] [PMID: 31004602]
[14]
Gong G, Yuan L, Cai L, et al. Tetramethylpyrazine suppresses transient oxygen-glucose deprivation-induced connexin 32 expression and cell apoptosis viathe ERK1/2 and p38 MAPK pathway in cultured hippocampal neurons. PLoS One 2014; 9(9): e105944.
[http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0105944] [PMID: 25237906]
[15]
Fan Y, Wu Y. Tetramethylpyrazine alleviates neural apoptosis in injured spinal cord viathe downregulation of miR-214-3p. Biomed Pharmacother 2017; 94: 827-33.
[http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.biopha.2017.07.162] [PMID: 28802236]
[16]
Zhao T, Fu Y, Sun H, Liu X. Ligustrazine suppresses neuron apoptosis viathe Bax/Bcl-2 and caspase-3 pathway in PC12 cells and in rats with vascular dementia. IUBMB Life 2018; 70(1): 60-70.
[http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/iub.1704] [PMID: 29247598]
[17]
Lazzara F, Trotta MC, Platania CBM, et al. Stabilization of HIF-1α in human retinal endothelial cells modulates expression of mirnas and proangiogenic growth factors. Front Pharmacol 2020; 11: 1063.
[http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fphar.2020.01063] [PMID: 32848728]
[18]
Singh N, Sharma G, Mishra V, Raghubir R. Hypoxia inducible factor-1: Its potential role in cerebral ischemia. Cell Mol Neurobiol 2012; 32(4): 491-507.
[http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10571-012-9803-9] [PMID: 22297543]
[19]
Ostrowski RP, Zhang JH. The insights into molecular pathways of hypoxia-inducible factor in the brain. J Neurosci Res 2020; 98(1): 57-76.
[PMID: 30548473]
[20]
Helton R, Cui J, Scheel JR, et al. Brain-specific knock-out of hypoxia-inducible factor-1 alpha reduces rather than increases hypoxic-ischemic damage. J Neurosci 2005; 25(16): 4099-107.
[http://dx.doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.4555-04.2005] [PMID: 15843612]
[21]
Barteczek P, Li L, Ernst AS, Böhler LI, Marti HH, Kunze R. Neuronal HIF-1α and HIF-2α deficiency improves neuronal survival and sensorimotor function in the early acute phase after ischemic stroke. J Cereb Blood Flow Metab 2017; 37(1): 291-306.
[http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0271678X15624933] [PMID: 26746864]
[22]
Baranova O, Miranda LF, Pichiule P, Dragatsis I, Johnson RS, Chavez JC. Neuron-specific inactivation of the hypoxia inducible factor 1 alpha increases brain injury in a mouse model of transient focal cerebral ischemia. J Neurosci 2007; 27(23): 6320-32.
[http://dx.doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0449-07.2007] [PMID: 17554006]
[23]
Merelli A, Rodríguez JCG, Folch J, Regueiro MR, Camins A, Lazarowski A. Understanding the role of hypoxia inducible factor during neurodegeneration for new therapeutics opportunities. Curr Neuropharmacol 2018; 16(10): 1484-98.
[http://dx.doi.org/10.2174/1570159X16666180110130253] [PMID: 29318974]
[24]
Wang J, Vasaikar S, Shi Z, Greer M, Zhang B. WebGestalt 2017: A more comprehensive, powerful, flexible and interactive gene set enrichment analysis toolkit. Nucleic Acids Res 2017; 45(W1): W130-7.
[http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/nar/gkx356] [PMID: 28472511]
[25]
Liao Y, Wang J, Jaehnig EJ, Shi Z, Zhang B. WebGestalt 2019: Gene set analysis toolkit with revamped UIs and APIs. Nucleic Acids Res 2019; 47(W1): W199-205.
[http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/nar/gkz401] [PMID: 31114916]
[26]
Jaakkola P, Mole DR, Tian YM, et al. Targeting of HIF-alpha to the von Hippel-Lindau ubiquitylation complex by O2-regulated prolyl hydroxylation. Science 2001; 292(5516): 468-72.
[http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.1059796] [PMID: 11292861]
[27]
Corcoran A, O’Connor JJ. Hypoxia-inducible factor signalling mechanisms in the central nervous system. Acta Physiol 2013; 208(4): 298-310.
[http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/apha.12117] [PMID: 23692777]
[28]
Chai D, Jiang H, Li Q. Isoflurane neurotoxicity involves activation of hypoxia inducible factor-1 α via intracellular calcium in neonatal rodents. Brain Res 2016; 1653: 39-50.
[http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.brainres.2016.10.014] [PMID: 27769790]
[29]
Jiang H, Huang Y, Xu H, Sun Y, Han N, Li QF. Hypoxia inducible factor-1α is involved in the neurodegeneration induced by isoflurane in the brain of neonatal rats. J Neurochem 2012; 120(3): 453-60.
[http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1471-4159.2011.07589.x] [PMID: 22097881]
[30]
Shao Z, Wang L, Liu S, Wang X. Tetramethylpyrazine protects neurons from oxygen-glucose deprivation-induced death. Med Sci Monit 2017; 23: 5277-82.
[http://dx.doi.org/10.12659/MSM.904554] [PMID: 29104282]
[31]
Ogle ME, Gu X, Espinera AR, Wei L. Inhibition of prolyl hydroxylases by dimethyloxaloylglycine after stroke reduces ischemic brain injury and requires hypoxia inducible factor-1α. Neurobiol Dis 2012; 45(2): 733-42.
[http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.nbd.2011.10.020] [PMID: 22061780]
[32]
Li YX, Ding SJ, Xiao L, Guo W, Zhan Q. Desferoxamine preconditioning protects against cerebral ischemia in rats by inducing expressions of hypoxia inducible factor 1α and erythropoietin. Neurosci Bull 2008; 24(2): 89-95.
[http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s12264-008-0089-3] [PMID: 18369388]
[33]
Bhullar KS, Rupasinghe HPV. Partridgeberry polyphenols protect rat primary cortical neurons from oxygen-glucose deprivation-reperfusion-induced injury via suppression of inflammatory adipokines and regulation of HIF-1α and PPARγ. Nutr Neurosci 2016; 19(6): 260-8.
[http://dx.doi.org/10.1179/1476830515Y.0000000026] [PMID: 25941748]
[34]
Mo ZT, Li WN, Zhai YR, Gao SY. The effects of icariin on the expression of HIF-1α, HSP-60 and HSP-70 in PC12 cells suffered from oxygen-glucose deprivation-induced injury. Pharm Biol 2017; 55(1): 848-52.
[http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13880209.2017.1281968] [PMID: 28140748]
[35]
Yeh SH, Ou LC, Gean PW, Hung JJ, Chang WC. Selective inhibition of early-but not late-expressed HIF-1α is neuroprotective in rats after focal ischemic brain damage. Brain Pathol 2011; 21(3): 249-62.
[http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1750-3639.2010.00443.x] [PMID: 21029239]
[36]
Althaus J, Bernaudin M, Petit E, Toutain J, Touzani O, Rami A. Expression of the gene encoding the pro-apoptotic BNIP3 protein and stimulation of hypoxia-inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α) protein following focal cerebral ischemia in rats. Neurochem Int 2006; 48(8): 687-95.
[http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.neuint.2005.12.008] [PMID: 16464515]
[37]
Bruick RK. Expression of the gene encoding the proapoptotic Nip3 protein is induced by hypoxia. Proc Natl Acad Sci 2000; 97(16): 9082-7.
[http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.97.16.9082] [PMID: 10922063]
[38]
Lin KH, Kuo WW, Jiang AZ, et al. Tetramethylpyrazine ameliorated hypoxia-induced myocardial cell apoptosis via HIF-1α/ JNK/p38 and IGFBP3/BNIP3 inhibition to upregulate pi3k/akt survival signaling. Cell Physiol Biochem 2015; 36(1): 334-44.
[http://dx.doi.org/10.1159/000374076] [PMID: 25967972]
[39]
Liu SP, Shibu MA, Tsai FJ, et al. Tetramethylpyrazine reverses high-glucose induced hypoxic effects by negatively regulating HIF-1α induced BNIP3 expression to ameliorate H9C2 cardiomyoblast apoptosis. Nutr Metab 2020; 17(1): 12.
[http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s12986-020-0432-x] [PMID: 32021640]
[40]
Zhang F, Lu S, He J, et al. Ligand activation of PPARγ by ligustrazine suppresses pericyte functions of hepatic stellate cells via SMRT-mediated transrepression of HIF-1α. Theranostics 2018; 8(3): 610-26.
[http://dx.doi.org/10.7150/thno.22237] [PMID: 29344293]
[41]
Chang Y, Hsiao G, Chen S, et al. Tetramethylpyrazine suppresses HIF-1α, TNF-α and activated caspase-3 expression in middle cerebral artery occlusion-induced brain ischemia in rats. Acta Pharmacol Sin 2007; 28(3): 327-33.
[http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1745-7254.2007.00514.x] [PMID: 17302993]

Rights & Permissions Print Cite
© 2024 Bentham Science Publishers | Privacy Policy