Hydrogen Sulfide Ameliorates High Glucose-induced Inflammation Through SIRT1-mTOR/NF-κB Signaling Pathway in HT-22 cells

Abstract

Background: Hyperglycemia-induced neuroinflammation promotes the progression of diabetic encephalopathy (DE). Hydrogen sulfide (H2S) exerts anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective activities against neurodegenerative diseases. However, its role in hyperglycemia-induced neuronal inflammation has not been investigated. Herein, we examined the effects and its related signaling pathway of H2S on inflammatory response in high glucose-treated HT-22 cells.Methods: A hippocampal neuronal cell line, HT-22, was used as an in vitro model to explore the function of H2S on inflammatory response triggered by high glucose. A dicyanoisophorone-based near-infrared fluorescent probe (NIR-NP) was synthesized to detect H2S levels in HT-22 cells. Western blotting, immunofluorescence and real time-qPCR were carried out to study the mechanism of action for H2S.Results: We found that high glucose (85 mM) decreased the level of endogenous H2S and the expression of cystathionine-β-synthase (CBS) which is the main enzyme for H2S production in the brain. Sodium hydrosulfide (NaHS, a H2S donor) or S-adenosylmethionine (SAMe, an allosteric activator of CBS) administration restored high glucose-induced downregulation of CBS and H2S levels. Importantly, high glucose upregulated the level of pro-inflammatory factors (IL-1β, IL-6, TNF-α) in HT-22 cells. Treatment with NaHS or SAMe alleviated this enhanced transcription of these pro-inflammatory factors, suggesting that H2S might ameliorate high glucose-induced inflammation in HT-22 cells. We also found that high glucose reduced SIRT1 protein levels. SIRT1 reduction elevated the level of p-mTOR, p-NF-κB and pro-inflammatory factors, which were restored by resveratrol (a SIRT1 agonist). These results suggested that SIRT1 might be an upstream mediator of mTOR/NF-κB signaling pathway. Furthermore, NaHS or SAMe treatment reversed the expression of SIRT1, mTOR and NF-κB under high glucose conditions.Conclusions: Our study revealed that high glucose decreased CBS to reduce the production of H2S, which in turn decreased the expression of SIRT1. The reduction of SIRT1 activated mTOR/NF-κB signaling to promote inflammation. Given that promoting H2S production using NaHS or SAMe can reverse high glucose-induced inflammatory response, our study might shed light on the prophylactic treatment of DE.