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Ultrasound Stimulation Suppresses LPS-Induced Proinflammatory Responses by Regulating NF-κB and CREB Activation in Microglial Cells

Jia-Wei Chang, Meng-Ting Wu, Wen-Shin Song, Feng-Yi Yang

Cerebral Cortex 2020 · 10.1093/cercor/bhaa062

in vitro cellsystemic inflammationhistology molecular

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects and underlying mechanisms of low-intensity pulsed ultrasound (LIPUS) against lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced neuroinflammation. BV-2 microglia subjected to LPS administration (1 μg/mL) were treated with LIPUS stimulation. The levels of inflammatory mediators and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) were quantified using the western blot. The results showed that LIPUS stimulation promoted the associated cAMP response element-binding protein (CREB)/BDNF expression in the LPS-treated microglia. Meanwhile, LIPUS treatment effectively suppressed the LPS-induced production of tumor necrosis factor-α, interleukin-1β, interleukin-6, inducible nitric oxide synthase, and cyclooxygenase-2 in the microglial cells, in addition to inhibiting the LPS-induced expressions of toll-like receptor 4 and myeloid differentiation factor 88, as well as the LPS-induced activation of c-Jun N-terminal kinase and nuclear factor kappa B. Furthermore, LIPUS significantly decreased the Bax/Bcl-2 ratio in the microglia following LPS treatment. Our data indicated that LIPUS attenuated the proinflammatory responses as well as the decline in BDNF in LPS-treated microglia. This study provides a better understanding of how LIPUS stimulation regulates anti-inflammatory actions in microglia, providing further evidence suggesting that such stimulation may be regarded as a novel strategy for the treatment of neuroinflammation.

Abstract via crossref.

Speciesmouse (BV-2 microglia cell line); rat (CTX TNA2 astrocyte cell line, comparison only)
Subjectsnot reported cultures
Sessions per subjectnot applicable
Randomisednot applicable
Blindingnot applicable
Sham / controlnone
Auditory controlnot reported
Readout timingoffline
Anaesthesianot applicable
Readoutshistology molecularWestern blot quantification of BDNF, GDNF, VEGF, p-TrkB, p-Akt, p-CREB, TLR4, MyD88, phosphorylated JNK, phosphorylated NF-κB p65, iNOS, COX-2, TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-6, Bax, Bcl-2; MTT cell viability assay
Direction of effectnot assessedLIPUS enhanced BDNF/GDNF/CREB/TrkB/Akt expression while suppressing LPS-induced proinflammatory cytokines (TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-6, iNOS, COX-2) and Bax/Bcl-2 apoptosis ratio; this is a molecular/inflammatory readout rather than a neural excitability measure, so direction_of_effect is not scored as excitatory/inhibitory.
Adverse eventsnot applicable

Exposures

Exposure 1: LIPUS stimulation of BV-2 microglia (and comparison astrocyte culture)

Target: cultured glia — “BV-2 microglial cells (cultured); CTX TNA2 astrocytes (cultured, comparison)
Device: Mettler · Mettler Electronics · ME740 generator with ME7410 1-MHz plane transducer

Pulse timing
Waveformpulsed
Fundamental frequency (kHz)1,000✓✓
Pulse duration (ms)5✓✓
Pulse repetition frequency (Hz)100✓✓
Duty cycle (%)50pulse duration × PRF gives 50%✓✓
Sonication duration (s)300✓✓
Pressure and intensity, by domain
Free-field pressure (kPa)not reported
Free-field Isppa (W/cm²)not reported
Free-field Ispta (W/cm²)0.01, 0.02, 0.03swept✓✓
In-situ estimatenot applicable
In-situ pressure (kPa)not applicable
In-situ Isppa (W/cm²)not applicable
In-situ Ispta (W/cm²)not applicable
Protocol, in the paper’s words

Each sample of microglial cells was treated with multiple LIPUS stimulations by triple sonication. Each sonication lasted 5 min, with a 5-min interval between the first and second and between the second and third sonications, for a total sonication time of 15 min.

Flags from extraction

  • exposures[0].free_field.ispta_w_cm2Paper states this as 'spatial average intensity' (SATA, averaged over the transducer face), not a spatial-peak measure; placed in ispta_w_cm2 as the closest schema field but the domain/measure type does not exactly match ISPTA.
  • n_subjectsPaper reports only technical/biological replicate counts per assay (n=6 for most figures, n=4 for inhibitor experiments in Fig. 5) and never a total number of independent culture preparations for the study.