Lung SOD3 limits neurovascular reperfusion injury and systemic immune activation following transient global cerebral ischemia

Background and Objectives: Studies implicate the lung in moderating systemic immune activation via effects on circulating leukocytes. In this study, we investigated whether targeted expression of the antioxidant extracellular superoxide dismutase (SOD3) within the lung would influence post-ischemic peripheral neutrophil activa-tion and CNS reperfusion injury. Methods: Adult, male mice expressing human SOD3 within type II pneumocytes were subjected to 15 min of transient global cerebral ischemia. Three days post-reperfusion, lung and brain tissue was collected and ana-lyzed by immunohistochemistry for inflammation and injury markers. In vitro motil-ity and neurotoxicity assays were conducted to ascertain the direct effects of hSOD3 on PMN activation. Results were compared against C57BL/6 age and sex-matched controls. Results: Relative to wild-type controls, hSOD3 heterozygous mice exhibited a reduction in lung inflammation, blood-brain barrier damage, and post-ischemic neuronal injury within the hippocampus and cortex. PMNs harvested from hSOD3 mice were also resistant to LPS priming, slower-moving, and less toxic to primary neuronal cultures. Conclusions: Constitutive, focal expression of hSOD3 is neuropro-tective in a model of global cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury. The underlying mechanism of SOD3-dependent protection is attributable in part to effects on the acti-vation state and toxic potential of circulating neutrophils. These results implicate lung-brain coupling as a determinant of cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury and highlight post-stroke lung inflammation as a potential therapeutic target in acute ischemic cerebrovascular injuries. (c) 2020 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.