Perioperative neurocognitive disorder (PND) frequently occurs in elderly patients following anesthesia, and is associated with pro-inflammatory activation of microglia in hippocampus. In this study, sevoflurane , a commonly used inhaled anesthetic in clinic, was used to induce PND-like symptoms in aged SD rats (18–20 months). Data from novel object recognition and Y-maze tests first confirmed that aged SD rats exposed to 2% sevoflurane for 5 h developed cognitive impairment . Microglia preferred to polarizing towards pro-inflammatory M1 subtype (iNOS+Iba-1 +) in rat hippocampus post sevoflurane exposure, but not anti-inflammatory M2 subtype (Arg-1 +Iba-1 +). Microarray data identified interferon regulatory factor 6 (Irf6) as one (Fold change = −2.52, p = 0.006) of the 15 downregulated genes in hippocampus of the rats exposed to sevoflurane. Co-immunofluorescence data further illustrated that sevoflurane decreased Irf6 expression in hippocampal microglia. In vitro, sevoflurane enhanced lipopolysaccharide-induced M1 polarization of BV-2 cells and inhibited interleukin-4 induced M2 polarization. Interestingly, manipulation of Irf6 expression hardly affected M1 polarization. However, Irf6 overexpression further augmented the inhibitory effects on M2 polarization, and its silencing showed opposite effects. In addition, such M2 polarization-promoting effects of Irf6 knockdown may be associated with induction of peroxisome proliferator activated receptor gamma expression. Collectively, these findings suggest that Irf6 downregulation in hippocampal microglia may be a compensatory mechanism against sevoflurane-induced PND in the elderly.
Yong Chen,Yanchao Zhang,Shen Rui,Bo Dong,Xiangshan Xu,Yuanzhe Jin
Atherosclerosis (AS), a chronic inflammatory disorder initiated by vascular endothelial dysfunction (ED), is prominently triggered by hemodynamic low-shear stress (LSS). Interferon regulatory factor 6 (IRF6) is a transcription factor that regulates the inflammatory response following injury. In this work, the LSS-induced AS model was induced by the partial ligation of the left carotid artery in high-fat diet-fed ApoE −/− mice. After four weeks of feeding, AS mice exhibited higher IRF6 expression and more severe lesions than sham mice. IRF6 suppression alleviated ED, inflammatory response, and oxidative stress in LSS-induced AS mice. In LSS-treated human aortic endothelial cells (HAECs), IRF6 was also highly expressed. Inhibition of IRF6 reduced the expression of pro-inflammatory adhesion molecules and the adhesion of THP-1 cells to HAECs. Mechanistically, IRF6 transcriptionally upregulated NDRG1. NDRG1 upregulation reversed the beneficial effect of IRF6 knockdown. Overall, IRF6 induces ED through the transcriptional activation of NDRG1, aggravating LSS-mediated AS progression.