Artesunate regulates the proliferation and differentiation of neural stem cells by activating the JAK‑2/STAT‑3 signaling pathway in ischemic stroke

Luan,Yumin; Bao,Yanan; Wang,Fei

doi:10.3892/etm.2022.11701

Artesunate regulates the proliferation and differentiation of neural stem cells by activating the JAK‑2/STAT‑3 signaling pathway in ischemic stroke

Authors:
- Yumin Luan
- Yanan Bao
- Fei Wang
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Affiliations: Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital of Kunming Medical University, Kunming, Yunnan 650032, P.R. China, Department of Thoracic Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Kunming Medical University, Kunming, Yunnan 650032, P.R. China, Department of Intensive Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital of Kunming Medical University, Kunming, Yunnan 650032, P.R. China
Published online on: November 16, 2022 https://doi.org/10.3892/etm.2022.11701
Article Number: 2
Copyright: © Luan et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of Creative Commons Attribution License.

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Abstract

Ischemic stroke is one of the most common causes of disability and death globally; therefore, the repair and reconstruction of the central nervous system (CNS) after stroke is very important. Neural stem/progenitor cells (NSPCs) may be the key to cell replacement therapy to treat CNS damage. It has previously been reported that artesunate (ART) is involved in the regulation of the biological functions of NSPCs; however, the mechanism of action of ART remains unclear. In the present study, different concentrations of ART were used to treat NSPCs following oxygen‑glucose deprivation (OGD). Cell viability and apoptosis were analyzed using Cell Counting Kit‑8 assay and flow cytometry, respectively, whereas immunofluorescence analysis was used to measure the expression levels of the differentiation‑related molecule doublecortin (DCX) and proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA). Western blotting was performed to analyze the expression levels of molecules related to the JAK‑2/STAT‑3 signaling pathway. The present results indicated that treatment with ART following OGD significantly promoted the viability of NSPCs, inhibited the apoptosis of NSPCs, and promoted the expression of PCNA and DCX. Moreover, ART significantly downregulated the protein expression levels of phosphorylated (p)‑JAK‑2 and p‑STAT‑3. Furthermore, activation of the JAK‑2/STAT‑3 signaling pathway and treatment with ART reversed the effects of ART on the proliferation, apoptosis and differentiation of NSPCs. In conclusion, the present data suggested that ART may promote the proliferation and differentiation of NSPCs, and reduce the apoptosis of NSPCs, by inhibiting the JAK‑2/STAT‑3 signaling pathway. ART may potentially be used for the treatment of ischemic stroke.

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