1. Academic Validation
  2. Phosphorylation of Akt by SC79 Prevents Iron Accumulation and Ameliorates Early Brain Injury in a Model of Experimental Subarachnoid Hemorrhage

Phosphorylation of Akt by SC79 Prevents Iron Accumulation and Ameliorates Early Brain Injury in a Model of Experimental Subarachnoid Hemorrhage

  • Molecules. 2016 Mar 10;21(3):325. doi: 10.3390/molecules21030325.
Shuangying Hao 1 Chuanhui Song 2 Longcheng Shang 3 Jiang Yu 4 Tong Qiao 5 Kuanyu Li 6
Affiliations

Affiliations

  • 1 Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Molecular Medicine, Medical School of Nanjing University, Nanjing 210093, China. shuangying9088@163.com.
  • 2 Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Molecular Medicine, Medical School of Nanjing University, Nanjing 210093, China. songchuanhui1016@hotmail.com.
  • 3 Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Molecular Medicine, Medical School of Nanjing University, Nanjing 210093, China. sjbslc@126.com.
  • 4 Department of Vascular Surgery, the Affiliated Drum Tower Hospital of Nanjing University Medical School, Nanjing 210008, China. rickyjy@163.com.
  • 5 Department of Vascular Surgery, the Affiliated Drum Tower Hospital of Nanjing University Medical School, Nanjing 210008, China. qiaotongmail@aliyun.com.
  • 6 Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Molecular Medicine, Medical School of Nanjing University, Nanjing 210093, China. likuanyu@nju.edu.cn.
Abstract

Previous studies have demonstrated that activation of Akt may alleviate early brain injury (EBI) following subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH). This study is undertaken to determine whether iron metabolism is involved in the beneficial effect of Akt activation after SAH. Therefore, we used a novel molecule, SC79, to activate Akt in an experimental Sprague-Dawley rat model of SAH. Rats were randomly divided into four groups as follows: sham, SAH, SAH + vehicle, SAH + SC79. The results confirmed that SC79 effectively enhanced the defense against oxidative stress and alleviated EBI in the temporal lobe after SAH. Interestingly, we found that phosphorylation of Akt by SC79 reduced cell surface transferrin receptor-mediated iron uptake and promoted ferroportin-mediated iron transport after SAH. As a result, SC79 administration diminished the iron content in the brain tissue. Moreover, the impaired Fe-S cluster biogenesis was recovered and loss of the activities of the Fe-S cluster-containing Enzymes were regained, indicating that injured mitochondrial functions are restored to healthy levels. These findings suggest that disrupted iron homeostasis could contribute to EBI and Akt activation may regulate iron metabolism to relieve iron toxicity, further protecting neurons from EBI after SAH.

Keywords

Akt phosphorylation; Fe-S cluster biogenesis; SC79; iron homeostasis; oxidative stress; subarachnoid hemorrhage.

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