Possible involvement of NAMPT in neuronal survival in cerebral ischemic injury under high-glucose conditions through the FoxO3a/LC3 pathway

Biomed Pharmacother. 2024 Jul:176:116778. doi: 10.1016/j.biopha.2024.116778. Epub 2024 May 23.

Abstract

The incidence of cerebral infarction triggered by abnormal glucose tolerance has increased; however, the relationship between glucose concentration in the brain and the detailed mechanism of post ischemic cell death remains unclear. Nicotinamide phosphoribosyltransferase (NAMPT), an adipocytokine, is the rate-limiting enzyme for NAD+ synthesis in the salvage pathway. Although NAMPT activation prevents neuronal injury, the relationship between NAMPT activity, glucose metabolism disorders, and cerebral ischemia-induced neuronal cell death is unknown. In this study, we determined changes in NAMPT on cerebral ischemic injuries with diabetes using a db/db mouse model of type 2 diabetes and then identified the underlying mechanisms using Neuro2a cells. The expression of inflammatory cytokine mRNAs was increased in db/db and db/+ middle cerebral artery occlusion and reperfusion (MCAO/R) mice. Although NeuN-positive cells were decreased after MCAO/R, the number of NAMPT and NeuN double-positive cells in NeuN-positive neuronal cells increased in db/db MCAO/R mice. Next, the role of NAMPT in Neuro2a cells under conditions of high glucose (HGC) and oxygen-glucose deprivation (OGD), which mimics diabetes-complicated cerebral infarction, was examined. Treatment with P7C3-A20, a NAMPT activator, suppressed the decrease in cell viability caused by HGC/OGD; however, there were no significant differences in the levels of cleaved caspase-3 and Bax proteins. Moreover, increased FoxO3a and LC3-II levels after HGC/OGD were inhibited by P7C3-A20 treatment. Our findings indicate that NAMPT activation is associated with neuronal survival under ischemic conditions with abnormal glucose tolerance through the regulation of FoxO3a/LC3.

Keywords: Cerebral ischemic injury; Diabetes; FoxO3a; LC3; NAMPT.

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Brain Ischemia* / metabolism
  • Brain Ischemia* / pathology
  • Cell Line, Tumor
  • Cell Survival* / drug effects
  • Cytokines / metabolism
  • Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 / complications
  • Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 / metabolism
  • Forkhead Box Protein O3* / metabolism
  • Glucose* / deficiency
  • Glucose* / metabolism
  • Infarction, Middle Cerebral Artery / metabolism
  • Infarction, Middle Cerebral Artery / pathology
  • Male
  • Mice
  • Mice, Inbred C57BL
  • Neurons* / drug effects
  • Neurons* / metabolism
  • Neurons* / pathology
  • Nicotinamide Phosphoribosyltransferase* / metabolism
  • Signal Transduction* / drug effects

Substances

  • Nicotinamide Phosphoribosyltransferase
  • Forkhead Box Protein O3
  • Glucose
  • FoxO3 protein, mouse
  • nicotinamide phosphoribosyltransferase, mouse
  • Cytokines