WD-40 repeat protein 26 protects against oxidative stress-induced injury in astrocytes via Nrf2/HO-1 pathways.

Abstract

Stroke is the leading cause of disability and the third leading cause of death in the world, and no effective treatment has been developed. Oxidative stress-induced cell injury and genomic instability is implicated in the pathogenesis of stroke, whose prognosis remains poor. A model of cerebral ischemic/reperfusion injury model was established through four artery occlusions. This study was carried out using western blot, flow cytometry and RT-PCR on cell line U251-MG. The cytotoxic effect of H2O2 and expression of LDH, caspase-3, MDA and SOD was analyzed by assay kit. We found that the expression of WDR26 was induced in cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury in vivo and the expression of WDR26 was induced by H2O2 in a dose- and time-dependent manner in vitro. WDR26 over-expression significantly suppressed H2O2-induced cell death and caspase-3-mediated apoptosis in U251-MG cells. In contrast, inhibition of WDR26 markedly enhanced cell death in U251-MG cells. In addition, WDR26 regulated oxidative stress response and induced Nrf2/HO-1 pathway. These findings suggest that WDR26 mediates H2O2-induced oxidative stress and cell injury, possibly by reducing the intrinsic apoptotic pathway and activating Nrf2 and HO-1 in astrocytes.