Abstract
Moyamoya disease (MMD) is a rare cerebrovascular disorder characterized by progressive occlusion of the internal carotid artery and the formation of an abnormal compensatory capillary network at the base of the brain. Genomics studies identified Ring finger protein 213 (RNF213) as a common genetic factor that increases the susceptibility to MMD in East Asian people. However, the function of RNF213 and its roles in pathogenesis of MMD is unclear. Here, we showed that genetic knockout of Rnf213 in mice causes significant pericyte reduction and blood-brain barrier impairment in the cortex. These phenotypes are accompanied with microglia activation and elevated level of proinflammatory cytokines. Additionally, Rnf213-deficient mice showed reduced expression of tight junction proteins, including Occludin, Claudin-5, and ZO-1. Together, these data suggested that RNF213 might contribute to the pathogenesis of MMD through disruption of pericyte homeostasis and blood-brain barrier integrity by dysregulation of inflammatory responses and tight junction formation.
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Data Availability
The datasets generated during and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.
Abbreviations
- MMD:
-
Moyamoya disease
- BBB:
-
Blood-brain barrier
- PDGF-BB:
-
Platelet-derived growth factor B
- PDGFR-β:
-
Platelet-derived growth factor receptor beta
- CCMs:
-
Cerebral cavernous malformations
- WT:
-
Wild type
- EBD:
-
Evans blue dye
- SDS-PAGE:
-
Sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis
- MMP-9:
-
Matrix metalloproteinase 9
- RNF213:
-
Ring finger protein 213
- CNS:
-
Central nervous system
- NVU:
-
Neurovascular unit
- P2:
-
2-Day postnatal
- PBS:
-
Phosphate buffer saline
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Acknowledgements
We would like to express the most sincere thanks to Boxing Li from Zhongshan School of Medicine, Sun Yat-sen University, for comments and advice on the article.
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This work was funded by the National Nature Science Foundation of China (82071286, 81671132, 81471180).
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All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Material preparation, data collection and analysis were performed by Wei Li, Xingyang Niu, and Yuanyuan Dai. The first draft of the manuscript was written by Wei Li and all authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
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Li, W., Niu, X., Dai, Y. et al. Rnf-213 Knockout Induces Pericyte Reduction and Blood-Brain Barrier Impairment in Mouse. Mol Neurobiol 60, 6188–6200 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12035-023-03480-y
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12035-023-03480-y