This study was aimed to determine the effect of acute
cerebral ischemia on the
protein expression level of silent mating type information regulator 2 homolog 3 (
Sirt3) in the neurons and clarify the pathological role of
Sirt3 in acute
cerebral ischemia. The mice with
middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) and primary cultured rat hippocampal neurons with
oxygen glucose deprivation (OGD) were used as acute
cerebral ischemia models in vivo and in vitro, respectively.
Sirt3 overexpression was induced in rat hippocampal neurons by lentivirus transfection. Western blot was utilized to measure the changes in
Sirt3 protein expression level. CCK8 assay was used to detect cell viability. Immunofluorescent staining was used to detect mitochondrial function. Transmission electron microscope was used to detect mitochondrial autophagy. The results showed that, compared with the normoxia group, hippocampal neurons from OGD1 h/reoxygenation 2 h (R2 h) and OGD1 h/R12 h groups exhibited down-regulated
Sirt3 protein expression levels. Compared with contralateral normal brain tissue, the ipsilateral penumbra region from MCAO1 h/reperfusion 24 h (R24 h) and MCAO1 h/R72 h groups exhibited down-regulated
Sirt3 protein expression levels, while there was no significant difference between the
Sirt3 protein levels on both sides of
sham group. OGD1 h/R12 h treatment damaged mitochondrial function, activated mitochondrial autophagy and reduced cell viability in hippocampal neurons, whereas
Sirt3 over-expression attenuated the above damage effects of OGD1 h/R12 h treatment. These results suggest that acute
cerebral ischemia results in a decrease in
Sirt3 protein level.
Sirt3 overexpression can alleviate acute
cerebral ischemia-induced neural
injuries by improving the mitochondrial function. The current study sheds light on a novel strategy against neural
injuries caused by acute
cerebral ischemia.