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PCBP2 Modulates Neural Apoptosis and Astrocyte Proliferation After Spinal Cord Injury

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Abstract

PCBP2, a member of the poly(C)-binding protein (PCBP) family, plays a pivotal role in posttranscriptional and translational regulation by interacting with single-stranded poly(C) motifs in target mRNAs. It is reported that several PCBP family members are involved in human malignancies. However, the distribution and function of PCBP2 in the central nervous system (CNS) remain unclear. In this study, we performed an acute spinal cord injury (SCI) model in adult rats and investigated the dynamic changes of PCBP2 expression in the spinal cord. Western blot and immunohistochemistry analysis revealed that PCBP2 presented in normal spinal cord. It gradually increased, reached a peak at 3 day, and then declined to basal levels at 14 days after SCI. We observed that the expression of PCBP2 was enhanced in the gray and white matter. Immunofluorescence indicated that PCBP2 was located in the neurons and astrocytes. Moreover, colocalization of PCBP2/active caspase-3 was detected in neurons, and colocalization of PCBP2/proliferating cell nuclear antigen was detected in astrocytes after SCI. These results indicated that PCBP2 might play an important role in neuronal apoptosis and astrocyte proliferation. In vitro, PCBP2-specific siRNA-transfected neuron showed significantly decrease of neuronal apoptosis and expression of cell cycle related proteins following glutamate stimulation. Meanwhile, PCBP2 knockdown also reduced primary astrocytes proliferation. All above indicated that PCBP2 might play a crucial role in cell proliferation and apoptosis. Collectively, our data suggested that PCBP2 might play important roles in CNS pathophysiology after SCI.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 81171140, 81471258), the Colleges and Universities in Natural Science Research Project of Jiangsu Province (No. 13KJB31009), and a project funded by the Priority Academic Program Development of Jiangsu Higher Education Institution (PAPD).

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    Authors and Affiliations

    1. Department of Orthopedics, Affiliated Hospital of Nantong University, Nantong, 226001, Jiangsu Province, China

      Xingxing Mao, Jin Liu, Chen Chen, Weidong Zhang, Rong Qian, Xinlei Chen & Youhua Wang

    2. Department of Rehabilitation, Second Peoples Hospital of Nantong, Nantong, 226001, Jiangsu Province, China

      Hongjian Lu, Jianbing Ge & Chengjin Zhao

    3. Jiangsu Province Key Laboratory for Inflammation and Molecular Drug Target, Nantong, China

      Dongmei Zhang

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    1. Xingxing Mao
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    2. Jin Liu
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    Correspondence to Youhua Wang.

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    Xingxing Mao and Jin Liu are contributed equally to this work.

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    Mao, X., Liu, J., Chen, C. et al. PCBP2 Modulates Neural Apoptosis and Astrocyte Proliferation After Spinal Cord Injury. Neurochem Res 41, 2401–2414 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11064-016-1953-6

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