Activation of ITLN-1 attenuates oxidative stress injury via activating SIRT1/PGC1- signaling in neuroblastoma cells

Cerebral injury is closely associated with enhanced oxidative stress. A newly discovered secretory adipocytokine, intelectin-1 (ITLN-1), has been shown to have beneficial effects in neuroprotection in epidemiological studies. However, the specific molecular mechanism of ITLN-1 in protecting against cerebral oxidative stress needs further investigation. In this study, we hypothesize that ITLN-1 plays a protective role against oxidative stress injury through the SIRT1/PGC1-alpha signaling pathway in neuromatocytes. We used hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) as a oxidative stress model to simulate oxidative stress injury. Then, small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) was used to knock down SIRT1 in N2a cells with or without ITLN overexpression, followed by H2O2-induced injury. We observed that H2O2 injury significantly decreased the levels of ITLN-1, SIRT1, and PGC-1 alpha. However, ITLN overexpression reversed H2O2-induced decline in cell viability and rise in apoptosis and intracellular ROS levels in N2a cells, while ITLN siRNA worsened the neurocyte injury. Furthermore, SIRT1 knockdown reversed the positive effect of ITLN overexpression on oxidative stress injury in N2a cells. Taken together, these findings suggest that ITLN-1 exerts neuroprotective effects against oxidative stress injury primarily through the SIRT1/PGC-1 alpha axis.