T0901317, an Agonist of Liver X Receptors, Attenuates Neuronal Apoptosis in Early Brain Injury after Subarachnoid Hemorrhage in Rats via Liver X Receptors/Interferon Regulatory Factor/P53 Upregulated Modulator of Apoptosis/Dynamin-1-Like Protein Pathway

Background and Purpose. T0901317, a liver X receptor (LXR) agonist, is widely used to explore the functions of LXRs. T0901317 exerts antiapoptotic effects in many central nervous system disease models. Our aim was to detect the role of T0901317 in neuronal apoptosis in early brain injury after subarachnoid hemorrhage. Methods. Subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) models of Sprague-Dawley rats were established with perforation method. T0901317 was injected intraperitoneally 1-hour post-SAH. GSK2033, an inhibitor of LXRs, and interferon regulatory factor (IRF-1) CRISPR activation were injected intracerebroventricularly to evaluate potential signaling pathway. The severity of SAH, neurobehavior test in both short- and long-term and apoptosis was measured with Western blot and immunofluorescence staining. Results. Expression of LXR-α and IRF-1 increased and peaked at 24 h post-SAH, while LXR-β remained unaffected in SAH+vehicle group compared with Sham group. Post-SAH T0901317 treatment attenuated neuronal impairments in both short- and long-term and decreased neuronal apoptosis, the expression of IRF-1, P53 upregulated modulator of apoptosis (PUMA), dynamin-1-like protein (Drp1), Bcl-2-associated X protein (Bax) and cleaved caspase-3, and increasing B-cell lymphoma 2 (Bcl-2) at 24 h from modeling. GSK2033 inhibited LXRs and reversed T0901317’s neuroprotective effects. IRF-1 CRISPR activation upregulated the expression of IRF-1 and abolished the treatment effects of T0901317. Conclusion. T0901317 attenuated neuronal apoptosis via LXRs/IRF-1/PUMA/Drp1 pathway in SAH rats.