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Up-regulation of NFATc4 Involves in Neuronal Apoptosis Following Intracerebral Hemorrhage

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Abstract

Nuclear factor of activated T-cells, cytoplasmic 4 (NFATc4), a transcriptional factor, is involved in the control about the flow of genetic information and the modulation of diverse cellular activities. Accumulating evidence has demonstrated that NFATc4 exerted a pro-apoptotic effect in multiple diseases. Here, we explored the NFATc4’s roles during the pathophysiological processes of intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH). An ICH rat model was built and evaluated according to behavioral testing. Using Western blot, immunohistochemistry, and immunofluorescence, significant up-regulation of NFATc4 was found in neurons in brain areas surrounding the hematoma following ICH. Increasing NFATc4 expression was found to be accompanied by the up-regulation of Fas ligand (FasL), active caspase-8, and active caspase-3, respectively. Besides, NFATc4 co-localized with active caspase-3 in neurons, indicating its role in neuronal apoptosis. Our in vitro study, using NFATc4 RNA interference in PC12 cells, further confirmed that NFATc4 might exert its pro-apoptotic function in neuronal apoptosis through extrinsic pathway. Thus, NFATc4 may play a role in promoting the brain secondary damage following ICH.

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Conflict of interest

We declare that we do not have any commercial or associative interest that represents a conflict of interest in connection with the work submitted.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Neurology, Affiliated Hospital of Nantong University, Nantong, Jiangsu, People’s Republic of China

    Lei Li, Kaifu Ke, Xiang Tan, Wei Xu, Jiabing Shen, Tingting Zhai, Ling Xu, Ying Rui, Heyi Zheng, Peipei Zhai & Maohong Cao

  2. Department of Neurology, Jingjiang Traditional Chinese Medical Hospital, Jingjiang, Jiangsu, People’s Republic of China

    Jianghua Zhao

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  1. Lei Li
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  2. Kaifu Ke
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  3. Xiang Tan
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  4. Wei Xu
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  5. Jiabing Shen
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  6. Tingting Zhai
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  7. Ling Xu
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  9. Heyi Zheng
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  10. Peipei Zhai
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  11. Jianghua Zhao
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  12. Maohong Cao
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Maohong Cao.

Additional information

Lei Li and Kaifu Ke contributed equally to this work.

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Li, L., Ke, K., Tan, X. et al. Up-regulation of NFATc4 Involves in Neuronal Apoptosis Following Intracerebral Hemorrhage. Cell Mol Neurobiol 33, 893–905 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10571-013-9955-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10571-013-9955-2

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