Chun-Ming Jiang
The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, China
Title: Ligusticum wallichii elevates the proliferation of hypoxia-stimulated human microglia through promoting HIF-1α-mediated MET expression
Biography
Biography: Chun-Ming Jiang
Abstract
During the hypoxia-involved neonatal stroke, microglial cells take part in endogenous defense mechanisms to prevent the brain injury. Thus, the reasonable therapeutic intervention in this disease may be the increase of microglia proliferation. In our study, we primarily found that Ligusticum wallichii enhances the proliferation of hypoxia-stimulated human microglia by increasing the cell cycle. Furthermore, Ligusticum wallichii differentially regulated the expression of a lot of genes, in which MET gene, encoding a cell surface receptor tyrosine kinase for recognizing hepatocyte growth factor ligand, acts an important down-stream effective molecule for Ligusticum wallichii in treatment with hypoxia-induced human microglia by using RNAi technique. Moreover, Ligusticum wallichii enhances the binding of HIF-1α to the promoter of MET gene in hypoxia-treated human microglia, providing the rational explanation why Ligusticum wallichii plus hypoxia-administrated human microglia have highest MET expression. Collectively, we have identified a potential mechanism by which MET regulated by HIF-1α contributes to Ligusticum wallichii-mediated increase of proliferation of hypoxia-induced human microglia. Thus Ligusticum wallichii and targeting MET should be considered as two potential strategies for enhancing the hypoxia-stimulated human microglia.