Neonatal hypoxic-ischemic (HI) brain injury causes significant mortality and long-term neurologic sequelae. We previously demonstrated that HI significantly increased microRNA-210 (miR-210) in the neonatal rat brain and inhibition of brain endogenous miR-210 was neuroprotective in HI brain injury. However, the molecular mechanisms underpinning this neuroprotection remain unclear. Using both in vivo and in vitro models, herein we uncover a novel mechanism mediating oxidative brain injury after neonatal HI, in which miR-210 induces mitochondrial dysfunction via downregulation of iron-sulfur cluster assembly protein (ISCU). Inhibition of miR-210 significantly ameliorates mitochondrial dysfunction, oxidative stress, and neuronal loss in the neonatal brain subjected to HI, as well as in primary cortical neurons exposed to oxygen-glucose deprivation (OGD). These effects are mediated through ISCU, in that miR-210 mimic decreases ISCU abundance in the brains of rat pups and primary cortical neurons, and inhibition of miR-210 protects ISCU against HI in vivo or OGD in vitro. Deletion of miR-210 binding sequences at the 3'UTR of ISCU transcript ablates miR-210-induced downregulation of ISCU protein abundance in PC12 cells. In primary cortical neurons, miR-210 mimic or silencing ISCU results in mitochondrial dysfunction, reactive oxygen species production, and activation of caspase-dependent death pathways. Of importance, knockdown of ISCU increases HI-induced injury in the neonatal rat brain and counteracts the neuroprotection of miR-210 inhibition. Therefore, miR-210 by downregulating ISCU and inducing mitochondrial dysfunction in neurons is a potent contributor of oxidative brain injury after neonatal HI.
Keywords: MicroRNA-210; Mitochondrial dysfunction; Neonatal hypoxia-ischemia; Neuronal death; Oxidative stress.