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Exp Neurobiol 2022; 31(5): 289-298
Published online October 31, 2022
https://doi.org/10.5607/en22001
© The Korean Society for Brain and Neural Sciences
Yeojin Kim1, Mingee Kim1, So-Dam Kim1, Naeun Yoon1, Xiaoying Wang2, Gyu-Un Bae1 and Yun Seon Song1*
1Department of Pharmacology, College of Pharmacy, Drug Information Research Institute, Muscle Physiome Research Center, Sookmyung Women’s University, Seoul 04310, Korea
2Clinical Neuroscience Research Center, Department of Neurosurgery and Neurology, Tulane University School of Medicine, New Orleans, LA 70112, USA
Correspondence to: *To whom correspondence should be addressed.
TEL: 82-2- 2077-7231, FAX: 82-2-710-9871
e-mail: yssong@sookmyung.ac.kr
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
With emerging data on the various functions of neuroglobin (Ngb), such as neuroprotection and neurogenesis, we investigated the role of Ngb in the neurovascular unit (NVU) of the brain. To study the distribution and function of Ngb after cerebral ischemia, transient middle cerebral artery occlusion (tMCAO) was performed in mice. Brain immunostaining and fluorescence-activated cell sorting were used to analyze the role of Ngb according to the location and cell type. In normal brain tissue, it was observed that Ngb was distributed not only in neurons but also around the brain’s blood vessels. Interestingly, Ngb was largely expressed in platelet-derived growth factor receptor β (PDGFRβ)-positive pericytes in the NVU. After tMCAO, Ngb levels were significantly decreased in the core of the infarct, and Ngb and PDGFRβ-positive pericytes were detached from the vasculature. In contrast, in the penumbra of the infarct, PDGFRβ-positive pericytes expressing Ngb were increased compared with that in the core of the infarct. Moreover, the cerebral blood vessels, which have Ngb-positive PDGFRβ pericytes, showed reduced blood-brain barrier (BBB) leakage after tMCAO. It showed that Ngb-positive PDGFRβ pericytes stayed around the endothelial cells and reduced the BBB leakage in the NVU. Our results indicate that Ngb may play a role in attenuating BBB leakage in part by its association with PDGFRβ. In this study, the distribution and function of Ngb in the pericytes of the cerebrovascular system have been elucidated, which contributes to the treatment of stroke through a new function of Ngb.
Keywords: Neuroglobin, Pericytes, Ischemic stroke, Blood-brain barrier