Sumoylation of hypoxia-inducible factor-1α ameliorates failure of brain stem cardiovascular regulation in experimental brain death.

One aspect of brain death is cardiovascular deregulation because asystole invariably occurs shortly after its diagnosis. A suitable neural substrate for mechanistic delineation of this aspect of brain death resides in the rostral ventrolateral medulla (RVLM). RVLM is the origin of a life-and-death s...

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Main Authors: Julie Y H Chan, Ching-Yi Tsai, Carol H Y Wu, Faith C H Li, Kuang-Yu Dai, Enya Y H Sun, Samuel H H Chan, Alice Y W Chang
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2011-03-01
Series:PLoS ONE
Online Access:http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC3048406?pdf=render
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author Julie Y H Chan
Ching-Yi Tsai
Carol H Y Wu
Faith C H Li
Kuang-Yu Dai
Enya Y H Sun
Samuel H H Chan
Alice Y W Chang
author_facet Julie Y H Chan
Ching-Yi Tsai
Carol H Y Wu
Faith C H Li
Kuang-Yu Dai
Enya Y H Sun
Samuel H H Chan
Alice Y W Chang
author_sort Julie Y H Chan
collection DOAJ
description One aspect of brain death is cardiovascular deregulation because asystole invariably occurs shortly after its diagnosis. A suitable neural substrate for mechanistic delineation of this aspect of brain death resides in the rostral ventrolateral medulla (RVLM). RVLM is the origin of a life-and-death signal that our laboratory detected from blood pressure of comatose patients that disappears before brain death ensues. At the same time, transcriptional upregulation of heme oxygenase-1 in RVLM by hypoxia-inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α) plays a pro-life role in experimental brain death, and HIF-1α is subject to sumoylation activated by transient cerebral ischemia. It follows that sumoylation of HIF-1α in RVLM in response to hypoxia may play a modulatory role on brain stem cardiovascular regulation during experimental brain death.A clinically relevant animal model that employed mevinphos as the experimental insult in Sprague-Dawley rat was used. Biochemical changes in RVLM during distinct phenotypes in systemic arterial pressure spectrum that reflect maintained or defunct brain stem cardiovascular regulation were studied. Western blot analysis, EMSA, ELISA, confocal microscopy and immunoprecipitation demonstrated that drastic tissue hypoxia, elevated levels of proteins conjugated by small ubiquitin-related modifier-1 (SUMO-1), Ubc9 (the only known conjugating enzyme for the sumoylation pathway) or HIF-1α, augmented sumoylation of HIF-1α, nucleus-bound translocation and enhanced transcriptional activity of HIF-1α in RVLM neurons took place preferentially during the pro-life phase of experimental brain death. Furthermore, loss-of-function manipulations by immunoneutralization of SUMO-1, Ubc9 or HIF-1α in RVLM blunted the upregulated nitric oxide synthase I/protein kinase G signaling cascade, which sustains the brain stem cardiovascular regulatory machinery during the pro-life phase.We conclude that sumoylation of HIF-1α in RVLM ameliorates brain stem cardiovascular regulatory failure during experimental brain death via upregulation of nitric oxide synthase I/protein kinase G signaling. This information should offer new therapeutic initiatives against this fatal eventuality.
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spelling doaj.art-1ab290e3dbce4783bb85191e38a98ea52022-12-21T23:00:03ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032011-03-0163e1737510.1371/journal.pone.0017375Sumoylation of hypoxia-inducible factor-1α ameliorates failure of brain stem cardiovascular regulation in experimental brain death.Julie Y H ChanChing-Yi TsaiCarol H Y WuFaith C H LiKuang-Yu DaiEnya Y H SunSamuel H H ChanAlice Y W ChangOne aspect of brain death is cardiovascular deregulation because asystole invariably occurs shortly after its diagnosis. A suitable neural substrate for mechanistic delineation of this aspect of brain death resides in the rostral ventrolateral medulla (RVLM). RVLM is the origin of a life-and-death signal that our laboratory detected from blood pressure of comatose patients that disappears before brain death ensues. At the same time, transcriptional upregulation of heme oxygenase-1 in RVLM by hypoxia-inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α) plays a pro-life role in experimental brain death, and HIF-1α is subject to sumoylation activated by transient cerebral ischemia. It follows that sumoylation of HIF-1α in RVLM in response to hypoxia may play a modulatory role on brain stem cardiovascular regulation during experimental brain death.A clinically relevant animal model that employed mevinphos as the experimental insult in Sprague-Dawley rat was used. Biochemical changes in RVLM during distinct phenotypes in systemic arterial pressure spectrum that reflect maintained or defunct brain stem cardiovascular regulation were studied. Western blot analysis, EMSA, ELISA, confocal microscopy and immunoprecipitation demonstrated that drastic tissue hypoxia, elevated levels of proteins conjugated by small ubiquitin-related modifier-1 (SUMO-1), Ubc9 (the only known conjugating enzyme for the sumoylation pathway) or HIF-1α, augmented sumoylation of HIF-1α, nucleus-bound translocation and enhanced transcriptional activity of HIF-1α in RVLM neurons took place preferentially during the pro-life phase of experimental brain death. Furthermore, loss-of-function manipulations by immunoneutralization of SUMO-1, Ubc9 or HIF-1α in RVLM blunted the upregulated nitric oxide synthase I/protein kinase G signaling cascade, which sustains the brain stem cardiovascular regulatory machinery during the pro-life phase.We conclude that sumoylation of HIF-1α in RVLM ameliorates brain stem cardiovascular regulatory failure during experimental brain death via upregulation of nitric oxide synthase I/protein kinase G signaling. This information should offer new therapeutic initiatives against this fatal eventuality.http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC3048406?pdf=render
spellingShingle Julie Y H Chan
Ching-Yi Tsai
Carol H Y Wu
Faith C H Li
Kuang-Yu Dai
Enya Y H Sun
Samuel H H Chan
Alice Y W Chang
Sumoylation of hypoxia-inducible factor-1α ameliorates failure of brain stem cardiovascular regulation in experimental brain death.
PLoS ONE
title Sumoylation of hypoxia-inducible factor-1α ameliorates failure of brain stem cardiovascular regulation in experimental brain death.
title_full Sumoylation of hypoxia-inducible factor-1α ameliorates failure of brain stem cardiovascular regulation in experimental brain death.
title_fullStr Sumoylation of hypoxia-inducible factor-1α ameliorates failure of brain stem cardiovascular regulation in experimental brain death.
title_full_unstemmed Sumoylation of hypoxia-inducible factor-1α ameliorates failure of brain stem cardiovascular regulation in experimental brain death.
title_short Sumoylation of hypoxia-inducible factor-1α ameliorates failure of brain stem cardiovascular regulation in experimental brain death.
title_sort sumoylation of hypoxia inducible factor 1α ameliorates failure of brain stem cardiovascular regulation in experimental brain death
url http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC3048406?pdf=render
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