IMR Press / JIN / Volume 22 / Issue 4 / DOI: 10.31083/j.jin2204096
Open Access Original Research
Involvement of CXCL10 in Neuronal Damage under the Condition of Spinal Cord Injury and the Potential Therapeutic Effect of Nrg1
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1 Cell Biology Department, Wuxi School of Medicine, Jiangnan University, 214122 Wuxi, Jiangsu, China
2 Department of Pathogen Biology, Guizhou Nursing Vocational College, 550081 Guiyang, Guizhou, China
3 Department of Neurodegeneration and Neuroinjury, Wuxi School of Medicine, Jiangnan University, 214122 Wuxi, Jiangsu, China
*Correspondence: weijiangzhao@jiangnan.edu.cn (Wei-jiang Zhao)
J. Integr. Neurosci. 2023, 22(4), 96; https://doi.org/10.31083/j.jin2204096
Submitted: 26 December 2022 | Revised: 8 February 2023 | Accepted: 13 February 2023 | Published: 13 July 2023
Copyright: © 2023 The Author(s). Published by IMR Press.
This is an open access article under the CC BY 4.0 license.
Abstract

Objective: Few studies have reported the direct effect of C–X–C motif chemokine ligand 10 (CXCL10) and Neuregulin 1 (Nrg1) on neurons after spinal cord injury (SCI). This study reports the role of CXCL10 in the regulation of neuronal damage after SCI and the potential therapeutic effect of Nrg1. Methods: The expression level of CXCL10 and Nrg1 in SCI mice was analyzed in the Gene Expression Omnibus DataSets, followed by immunohistochemical confirmation using a mouse SCI model. HT22 cells and NSC34 cells were treated with CXCL10 and Nrg1, individually or in combination, and then assayed for cell viability. The percentage of wound closure was determined through the cell scratch injury model using HT22 and NSC34 cells. Potential molecular mechanisms were also tested in response to either the individual administration of CXCL10 and Nrg1 or a mixture of both molecules. Results: CXCL10 expression was significantly increased in both young and old mice subjected to SCI, while Nrg1 expression was significantly decreased. CXCL10 induced a decrease in cell viability, which was partially reversed by Nrg1. CXCL10 failed to inhibit scratch healing in HT22 and NSC34 cells, while Nrg1 promoted scratch healing. At the molecular level, CXCL10-activated cleaved caspase 9 and cleaved caspase 3 were both inhibited by Nrg1 through pERK1/2 signaling in HT22 and NSC34 cells. Conclusions: CXCL10 is upregulated in SCI. Despite the negative effect on cell viability, CXCL10 failed to inhibit the scratch healing of HT22 and NSC34 cells. Nrg1 may protect neurons by partially antagonizing the effect of CXCL10.

Keywords
spinal cord injury (SCI)
HT22 cells
NSC34 cells
C–X–C motif chemokine ligand 10 (CXCL10)
Neuregulin 1 (Nrg1)
neuronal damage
cell viability
scratch injury
Funding
81471279/National Natural Science Foundation of China
81171138/National Natural Science Foundation of China
JSSCRC 2021533/Jiangsu Province Shuangchuang Talent Plan
1285081903200020/Research Start-up Fund of Jiangnan University
1286010242190060/Research Start-up Fund of Wuxi School of Medicine, Jiangnan University
Figures
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