AG490 protects cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury via inhibiting the JAK2/3 signaling pathway

Background Cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury is a severe problem in patients with brain ischemia. Brain injury caused by the immune response is important in the pathogenesis of cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury and immune pathways. It is important to investigate potential targets for the treatment of cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury. Methods In this experiment, we evaluated the effect of an exogenous JAK antagonist AG490 in the cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury model, which was established by middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO). Histology study, TUNEL staining, Western blot, and RT-PCR were employed to examine the effects of AG490 in cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury. Results In the brain tissue of MCAO mice, JAK2 was highly expressed. AG490 is an inhibitor of JAK2, which reduced the phosphorylation level of JAK2. AG490 downregulated the phosphorylated activation of JAK3 and their downstream STAT3. The antiapoptotic activity of AG490 on cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury mice was consistent with in vitro data. It reduced the phosphorylation of JAK2/JAK3/STAT3 and the apoptosis rate in cultured neurons upon apoptosis induction. Besides, we also observed the neuroprotective effects of AG490 on cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury. Administration of AG490 could further enhance the expression of neurotrophins including BNDF, NT3, and the neurotrophin receptor TrkB. Conclusion Therefore, AG490 is pluripotent for cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury through both antiapoptosis and neuroprotective activities. The antiapoptosis effect is dependent on its regulation of the JAK-STAT pathway.