2. Academic Validation
  3. Inhibition of acid-sensing receptor GPR4 attenuates neuronal ferroptosis via RhoA/YAP signaling in a rat model of subarachnoid hemorrhage

Inhibition of acid-sensing receptor GPR4 attenuates neuronal ferroptosis via RhoA/YAP signaling in a rat model of subarachnoid hemorrhage

  • Free Radic Biol Med. 2024 Oct 10:225:333-345. doi: 10.1016/j.freeradbiomed.2024.10.273.
Qiuguang He 1,  You Zhou 2,  Lei Wu 3,  Lei Huang 4,  Ye Yuan 1,  Jerry J Flores 5,  Xu Luo 6,  Yihao Tao 6,  Xionghui Chen 5,  Hideki Kanamaru 5,  Siyuan Dong 5,  Shiyi Zhu 5,  Qian Yu 5,  Mingyang Han 5,  Prativa Sherchan 5,  Jiani Li 7,  Jiping Tang 5,  Zongyi Xie 8,  John H Zhang 9
Affiliations

Affiliations

  • 1 Department of Neurosurgery, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, 76 Linjiang Road, Chongqing, 400010, China; Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Loma Linda University School of Medicine, Loma Linda, CA, 92354, USA.
  • 2 Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Loma Linda University School of Medicine, Loma Linda, CA, 92354, USA; Department of Critical Care Medicine, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, 76 Linjiang Road, Chongqing, 400010, China.
  • 3 Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Loma Linda University School of Medicine, Loma Linda, CA, 92354, USA; Department of Neurology, Guangdong Second Provincial General Hospital, Guangzhou, Guangdong, 510317, China.
  • 4 Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Loma Linda University School of Medicine, Loma Linda, CA, 92354, USA; Department of Neurosurgery, Loma Linda University School of Medicine, Loma Linda, CA, 92354, USA.
  • 5 Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Loma Linda University School of Medicine, Loma Linda, CA, 92354, USA.
  • 6 Department of Neurosurgery, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, 76 Linjiang Road, Chongqing, 400010, China.
  • 7 Department of Neurology, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, 76 Linjiang Road, Chongqing, 400010, China.
  • 8 Department of Neurosurgery, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, 76 Linjiang Road, Chongqing, 400010, China. Electronic address: zyxie2008@cqmu.edu.cn.
  • 9 Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Loma Linda University School of Medicine, Loma Linda, CA, 92354, USA; Department of Neurosurgery, Loma Linda University School of Medicine, Loma Linda, CA, 92354, USA; Department of Anesthesiology and Neurology, Loma Linda University School of Medicine, Loma Linda, CA, 92354, USA. Electronic address: johnzhang3910@yahoo.com.
PMID: 39393553 DOI: 10.1016/j.freeradbiomed.2024.10.273
Abstract

Background and purpose: Subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) is a devastating stroke, in which acidosis is one of detrimental complications. The extracellular pH reduction can activate G protein-coupled receptor 4 (GPR4) in the brain. Yet, the extent to which proton-activated GPR4 contributes to the early brain injury (EBI) post-SAH remains largely unexplored. Ferroptosis, iron-dependent programmed cell death, has recently been shown to contribute to EBI. We aimed to investigate the effects of GPR4 inhibition on neurological deficits and neuronal Ferroptosis after SAH in rats.

Methods: A total 253 Sprague Dawley (SD) male rats (weighing 275-330g) were utilized in this study. SAH was induced by endovascular perforation. NE-52-QQ57 (NE), a selective antagonist of GPR4 was administered intraperitoneally 1-h post-SAH. To explore the mechanisms, RhoA activator U-46619 and YAP activator PY-60 were delivered intracerebroventricularly. Short- and long-term neurobehavior, SAH grading, Western blot assay, ELISA assay, immunofluorescence staining, and transmission electron microscopy was performed post-SAH.

Results: Following SAH, there was an upregulation of GPR4 expression in neurons. GPR4 inhibition by NE improved both short-term and long-term neurological outcomes post-SAH. NE also reduced neuronal Ferroptosis, as evidenced by decreased lipid peroxidation products 4HNE and MDA levels in brain tissues, and reduced mitochondrial shrinkage, increased mitochondria crista and decreased membrane density. The application of either U-46619 or PY-60 partially offset the neuroprotective effects of NE on neuronal Ferroptosis in SAH rats.

Conclusions: This study demonstrated that acid-sensing receptor GPR4 contributed to neuronal Ferroptosis after SAH via RhoA/YAP pathway, and NE may be a potential therapeutic strategy to attenuate GPR4 mediated neuronal Ferroptosis and EBI after SAH.

Keywords

Early brain injury; Ferroptosis; GPR4 antagonist; Neurobehavior; Subarachnoid hemorrhage.

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