Anthocyanins have received growing attention as dietary antioxidants for the prevention of oxidative damage. Astrocytes, which are specialized glial cells, exert numerous essential, complex functions in both healthy and diseased central nervous system (CNS) through a process known as reactive astrogilosis. Therefore, the maintenance of glial cell viability may be important because of its role as a key modulator of neuropathological events. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of anthocyanin on the survival of glial cells exposed to oxidative stress. Our results demonstrated that anthocyanin extracts from black soybean increased survival of U87 glioma cells in a dose dependent manner upon oxygen-glucose deprivation (OGD), accompanied by decrease levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS). While treatment cells with anthocyanin extracts or OGD stress individually activated autophagy induction, the effect was significantly augmented by pretreatment cells with anthocyanin extracts prior to OGD. The contribution of autophagy induction to the protective effects of anthocyanin was verified by the observation that silencing the Atg5 expression, an essential regulator of autophagy induction, reversed the cytoprotective effect of anthocyanin extracts against OGD stress. Treatment of U87 cells with rapamycin, an autophagy inducer, increased cell survival upon OGD stress comparable to anthocyanin, indicating that autophagy functions as a survival mechanism against oxidative stress-induced cytotoxicity in glial cells. Our results, therefore, provide a rationale for the use of anthocyanin as a preventive agent for brain dysfunction caused by oxidative damage, such as a stroke.

The Bcl-2-interacting death suppressor (Bis) protein is involved in antiapoptosis and antistress pathways. However, its roles after neonatal hypoxia-ischemia remain obscure. Therefore, we investigated the effects of Bis deletion on hippocampal cell death following neonatal hypoxia-ischemia. We transected the right common carotid artery of bis(+/+) and bis(-/-) mice at postnatal Day 7 and subjected them to hypoxia for 35 min. Cresyl violet staining showed that hypoxia-ischemia induced progressive cell death in the hippocampi of bis(+/+) mice. Moreover, Bis was expressed in astrocytes, not microglia, in sham-manipulated hippocampi of bis(+/+) mice, and was markedly enhanced after hypoxia-ischemia. Immunoblotting showed that Bis expression significantly increased 3 and 7 days following hypoxia-ischemia. Unexpectedly, 7 days after hypoxia-ischemia, the number of hippocampal NeuN-positive cells was higher in the bis(-/-) mice than in the bis(+/+) mice. We subsequently performed transcriptomic analysis and quantitative real time polymerase chain reaction to search for the underlying genes responsible for resistance to hypoxia-ischemia in the bis(-/-) hippocampus. These studies showed that 6 h after hypoxia-ischemia, galectin 3 and filamin C levels increased to a lesser extent in the bis(-/-) hippocampi compared with the bis(+/+) hippocampi. Finally, our in vitro hypoxia-ischemia model, using A172 glioma cells and primary astrocytes, showed that downregulation of Bis blocked the enhanced expression of galectin 3 after oxygen-glucose deprivation. This study demonstrated that Bis was upregulated in the astrocytes after hypoxia-ischemia. In addition, we showed that hippocampal neurons are less vulnerable to hypoxia-ischemia in mice lacking Bis, possibly because of the modulation of galectin 3 induction.

Aims/hypothesis B cell CLL/lymphoma 2 (BCL-2)-interacting cell death suppressor (BIS), known as an anti-stress and antiapoptotic protein, has been reported to modulate susceptibility to oxidative stress. This study investigated the potential role of BIS as an antioxidant protein in diabetic nephropathy. Methods Diabetes was induced in BIS-heterozygote (BIS-HT) mice via streptozotocin injections and the resulting phenotypes were compared with those of BIS-wild-type (BIS-WT) mice over the 20 weeks following diabetes induction.Results Renal injuries, represented by increased plasma creatinine levels and increased albuminuria, were greater in diabetic BIS-HT mice than in diabetic BIS-WT mice, and were accompanied by a significant increase in reactive oxygen species (ROS) and oxidative stress markers. Moreover, renal pathological changes and the apoptotic process were accelerated in diabetic BIS-HT mice compared with diabetic BIS-WT mice with the same degree of hyperglycaemia; all were restored by 4-hydroxy-2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidine-Noxyl (tempol) treatment. The levels of NADPH oxidase and related proteins were not significantly higher in diabetic BIS-HT mice compared with diabetic BIS-WT mice. However, levels of superoxide dismutase (SOD)1 and SOD2 increased on the induction of diabetes in BIS-WT mice but not in BIS-HT mice, correlating with the total SOD activity. An in vitro study showed that knockdown of BIS production also resulted in impaired induction of SOD activity as well as SOD levels in HK-2 and NMS cells, concomitant with significant ROS accumulation. Conclusion/interpretation Our results suggest that the decreased antioxidant capacity of BIS aggravates diabetic nephropathy in diabetic BIS-HT mice, possibly as a result of the disruption in the regulation of SOD protein quality under oxidative stress. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s00125-013-3064-0) contains peer-reviewed but unedited supplementary material, which is available to authorised users.

Bcl-2 interacting cell death suppressor (Bis) has been shown to have anti-apoptotic and anti-stress functions. Recently, increased Bis expression was reported to correlate with glioma aggressiveness. Here, we investigated the effect of Bis knockdown on the acquisition of the invasive phenotype of A172 glioma cells, induced by 12-O-Tetradecanoylphorbol- 3-acetate (TPA), using a Transwell assay. Bis knockdown resulted in a significant decrease in the migration and invasion of A172 cells. Furthermore, Bis knockdown notably decreased TPAinduced matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) activity and mRNA expression, as measured by zymography and quantitative real time PCR, respectively. A luciferase reporter assay indicated that Bis suppression significantly down-regulated NF-κB-driven transcription. Finally, we demonstrated that the rapid phosphorylation and subsequent degradation of IκB-α induced by TPA was remarkably delayed by Bis knockdown. These results suggest that Bis regulates the invasive ability of glioma cells elicited by TPA, by modulating NF-κB activation, and subsequent induction of MMP-9 mRNA. [BMB Reports 2014; 47(5): 262-267]

The Bcl-2 interacting death suppressor (Bis) protein is known to be involved in a variety of pathophysiological conditions. We recently generated bis-deficient mice, which exhibited early lethality with typical nutritional deprivation status. To further investigate the molecular basis for the malnutrition phenotype of bis deficient mice, we explored Bis expression in the digestive system of normal mice. Western blot analysis and quantitative real time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction analysis indicated that Bis expression is highest in the esophagus, followed by the stomach, colon, jejunum and ileum. Immunohistochemical data indicated that Bis expression is restricted to the stratified squamous epitheliums in the esophagus and forestomach, and was not notable in the columnar epitheliums in the stomach, small intestine and colon. In addition, strong Bis immunoreactivity was detected in the striated muscles surrounding the esophagus and smooth muscles at a lesser intensity throughout the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. Ganglionated plexuses, located in submucous layers, as well as intermuscular layers, were specifically immunoreactive for Bis. Immunofluorescence studies revealed that Bis is co-localized in glial fibrillary acidic protein-expressing enteric glial cells. Immunostaining with neuron specific esterase antibodies indicate that Bis is also present in the cell bodies of ganglions in the enteric nervous system (ENS). Our findings indicate that Bis plays a role in regulating GI functions, such as motility and absorption, through modulating signal transmission between the ENS and smooth muscles or the intestinal epitheliums.