The innate immune response is involved in the pathophysiology of cerebral ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) injury. Recent evidence suggests that scavenger receptors have a role in the induction of innate immunity. In this study, we examined the role of scavenger receptor A (SR-A) in focal cerebral I/R injury. Both SR-A-/- mice (n=10) and age-matched wild-type (WT) mice (n=9) were subjected to focal cerebral ischemia (60 minutes), followed by reperfusion (for 24 hours). Infarct size was determined by TTC (triphenyltetrazolium chloride) staining. The morphology of neurons in the brain sections was examined by Nissl's staining. Activation of intracellular signaling was analyzed by western blot. Cerebral infarct size in SR-A -/- mice was significantly reduced by 63.9% compared with WT mice after cerebral I/R. In SR-A -/- mice, there was less neuronal damage in the hippocampus compared with WT mice. Levels of FasL, Fas, FADD, caspase-3 activity, and terminal deoynucleotidyl transferase-mediated 2′-deoxyuridine 5′-triphosphate-biotin nick end labeling-positive apoptotic cells were significantly increased in WT mice after cerebral I/R, but not in SR-A -/- mice. Cerebral I/R increased nuclear factor-B activation in WT mice, but not in SR-A -/- mice. These data suggest that SR-A has a central role in cerebral I/R injury and that suppression of SR-A may be a useful approach for ameliorating brain injury in stroke patients.

Objective: The mechanisms by which lipopolysaccharide (LPS) pretreatment induces cardioprotection following ischaemia/reperfusion (I/R) have not been fully elucidated. We hypothesized that activation of phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K)/Akt and high mobility group box 1 (HMGBx1) signaling plays an important role in LPS-induced cardioprotection. Methods: In in vivo experiments, age- and weight-matched male C57BL/10Sc wild type mice were pretreated with LPS before ligation of the left anterior descending coronary followed by reperfusion. Infarction size was examined by triphenyltetrazolium chloride (TTC) staining. Akt, phospho-Akt, and HMGBx1 were assessed by immunoblotting with appropriate primary antibodies. In situ cardiac myocyte apoptosis was examined by the TdT-mediated dUTP nick-end labeling (TUNEL) assay. In an in vitro study, rat cardiac myoblasts (H9c2) were subdivided into two groups, and only one was pretreated with LPS. After pretreatment, the cells were transferred into a hypoxic chamber under 0.5% O2. Levels of HMGBx1 were assessed by immunoblot. Results: In the in vivo experiment, pretreatment with LPS reduced the at risk infarct size by 70.6% and the left ventricle infarct size by 64.93% respectively. Pretreatment with LPS also reduced cardiac myocytes apoptosis by 39.1% after ischemia and reperfusion. The mechanisms of LPS induced cardioprotection involved increasing PI3K/Akt activity and decreasing expression of HMGBx1. In the in vitro study, pretreatment with LPS reduced the level of HMGBx1 in H9c2 cell cytoplasm following hypoxia. Conclusion: The results suggest that the cardioprotection following I/R induced by LPS pretreatment involves PI3K/Akt and HMGBx1 pathways.

We examined whether blocking the MyD88 mediated pathway could protect myocardium from ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury by transfecting Ad5-dnMyD88 into the myocardium of rats (n = 8) 3 days before the hearts were subjected to ischemia (45 min) and reperfusion (4 h). Ad5-GFP served as control (n = 8). One group of rats was (n = 8) subjected to I/R without transfection. Transfection of Ad5-dnMyD88 significantly reduced infarct size by 53.6% compared with the I/R group (15.1 ± 3.02 vs 32.5 ± 2.59) while transfection of Ad5-GFP did not affect I/R induced myocardial injury (35.4 ± 2.59 vs 32.5 ± 2.59). Transfection of Ad5-dnMyD88 significantly inhibited I/R-enhanced NFκB activity by 50% and increased the levels of phospho-Akt by 35.6% and BCL-2 by 81%, respectively. Cardiac myocyte apoptosis after I/R was significantly reduced by 59% in the Ad5-dnMyD88 group. The results demonstrate that both inhibition of the NFκB activation pathway and activation of the Akt signaling pathway may be responsible for the protective effect of transfection of dominant negative MyD88.

Decades of research has provided evidence for the role of the endocannabinoid system in human health and disease. This versatile system, consisting of two receptors (CB1 and CB2), their endogenous ligands (endocannabinoids), and metabolic enzymes has been implicated in a wide variety of disease states, ranging from neurological disorders to cancer. CB2 has gained much interest for its beneficial immunomodulatory role that can be obtained without eliciting psychotropic effects through CB1. Recent studies have shed light on a protective role of CB2 in cardiovascular disease, an ailment which currently takes more lives each year in Western countries than any other disease or injury. By use of CB2 knockout mice and CB2-selective ligands, knowledge of how CB2 signaling affects atherosclerosis and ischemia has been acquired, providing a major stepping stone between basic science and translational clinical research. Here, we summarize the current understanding of the endocannabinoid system in human pathologies and provide a review of the results from preclinical studies examining its function in cardiovascular disease, with a particular emphasis on possible CB2-targeted therapeutic interventions to alleviate atherosclerosis.

Les phénomènes d’ischémie-reperfusion sont rencontrés dans plusieurs situations physiopathologiques. Le seul traitement de l’ischémie repose sur une restauration précoce du flux sanguin. Paradoxalement, la reperfusion génère des lésions supplémentaires, appelées « lésions de reperfusion », dont la mitochondrie est un acteur majeur via l’ouverture du pore de transition de perméabilité mitochondrial (mPTP). L’ouverture du mPTP est principalement modulée par la cyclophiline D (CypD), une protéine de la matrice mitochondriale, dont l’inhibition pharmacologique par la cyclosporine A (CsA) permet de limiter l’ouverture du pore. Cette inhibition, obtenue in vitro et in vivo, permet de réduire les lésions de reperfusion. Néanmoins, de récents essais cliniques n’ont pas permis de confirmer ce bénéfice dans le cadre de l’infarctus du myocarde, soulignant la nécessité de développer de nouveaux inhibiteurs du mPTP. Dans ce travail, nous avons étudié l’effet de nouveaux ligands de la CypD sur l’ouverture du mPTP. Ces petites molécules innovantes, de structure radicalement différente de la CsA inhibent l’ouverture du mPTP de mitochondries isolées et le dérivé le plus actif, le C31, permet une inhibition plus efficace du mPTP que la CsA. Le C31 inhibe également le mPTP au niveau cellulaire, dans des hépatocytes primaires et dans des cardiomyocytes isolés. In vivo, le C31 atteint les mitochondries hépatiques et protège le foie dans un modèle d’ischémie-reperfusion hépatique. Cependant, la stabilité métabolique du C31 ne lui permet pas d’atteindre le cœur. La poursuite du développement de ces inhibiteurs pourrait aboutir à de nouveaux candidats pour protéger les organes des lésions de reperfusion. / Ischemia-reperfusion can occur in various pathophysiological situations such as myocardial infarction or organ transplantation. The only available treatment of ischemia relies on a timely reperfusion which paradoxically causes additional damage, so-called « reperfusion injury ». Mitochondria play a central role in this phenomenon through the opening of the mitochondrial permeability transition pore (mPTP) which extends cell death. mPTP opening is modulated by the matrix protein cyclophilin D (CypD). CypD inhibition by cyclosporin A (CsA), the most described CypD inhibitor, limits reperfusion injury in vivo. Nevertheless, recent clinical trials failed to recapitulate such protection in the context of myocardial infarction, emphasizing the urge to develop new mPTP inhibitors. Here, we investigated the effects of new CypD ligands on mPTP opening. We demonstrated that these small molecules unrelated to CsA are potent mPTP inhibitors and that the most active compound, C31, exhibited stronger mPTP-inhibiting properties as compared to CsA. C31 also inhibited mPTP opening in primary hepatocytes and isolated cardiomyocytes. In vivo, C31 reaches liver mitochondria and protects mitochondrial function in a hepatic ischemia-reperfusion model. Nevertheless, C31 metabolic stability hampers cardiac uptake of the compound. Further development of these new inhibitors might lead to interesting candidates to protect organs against ischemia-reperfusion injury.

京都大学 / 0048 / 新制・課程博士 / 博士(医学) / 甲第18645号 / 医博第3944号 / 新制||医||1006(附属図書館) / 31559 / 京都大学大学院医学研究科医学専攻 / (主査)教授 伊達 洋至, 教授 羽賀 博典, 教授 千葉 勉 / 学位規則第4条第1項該当 / Doctor of Medical Science / Kyoto University / DFAM

京都大学 / 0048 / 新制・課程博士 / 博士(医学) / 甲第19226号 / 医博第4025号 / 新制||医||1011(附属図書館) / 32225 / 京都大学大学院医学研究科医学専攻 / (主査)教授 福田 和彦, 教授 木村 剛, 教授 三嶋 理晃 / 学位規則第4条第1項該当 / Doctor of Medical Science / Kyoto University / DFAM

京都大学 / 0048 / 新制・課程博士 / 博士(医学) / 甲第19556号 / 医博第4063号 / 新制||医||1012(附属図書館) / 32592 / 京都大学大学院医学研究科医学専攻 / (主査)教授 小池 薫, 教授 福田 和彦, 教授 三嶋 理晃 / 学位規則第4条第1項該当 / Doctor of Medical Science / Kyoto University / DFAM

京都大学 / 0048 / 新制・課程博士 / 博士(医学) / 甲第19923号 / 医博第4143号 / 新制||医||1017(附属図書館) / 33009 / 京都大学大学院医学研究科医学専攻 / (主査)教授 木村 剛, 教授 福田 和彦, 教授 羽賀 博典 / 学位規則第4条第1項該当 / Doctor of Medical Science / Kyoto University / DFAM

京都大学 / 0048 / 新制・課程博士 / 博士(医学) / 甲第20081号 / 医博第4174号 / 新制||医||1018(附属図書館) / 33197 / 京都大学大学院医学研究科医学専攻 / (主査)教授 湊谷 謙司, 教授 福田 和彦, 教授 浅野 雅秀 / 学位規則第4条第1項該当 / Doctor of Medical Science / Kyoto University / DFAM