Focal Cerebral Ischemia Reduces Protein Phosphatase 2A Subunit B Expression in Brain Tissue and HT22 Cells

Protein phosphatase 2A (PP2A) is a serine and threonine protein phosphatase that regulates cell cycle progression and apoptosis. PP2A is composed of various subunits. Among these subunits, subunit B plays an important role in the modulation of PP2A function in the brain. This study investigated PP2A subunit B expression levels after neuronal cell injury. Middle cerebral artery occlusions (MCAO) were surgically induced in adult male rats to induce focal cerebral ischemic injury, and brain tissues were collected 24 h after MCAO. A proteomic approach revealed reduction of PP2A subunit B protein spots in MCAO-operated animals in comparison to sham-operated animals. Western blot analysis confirmed that MCAO induces reductions in PP2A subunit B levels. Moreover, glutamate exposure induces neuronal cell death and leads to reductions of PP2A subunit B levels in a hippocampal-derived cell line. This study demonstrated the decrease of PP2A subunit B in ischemic neuronal cell injury. These results suggest that the decrease of PP2A subunit B after ischemic brain injury can mediate neuronal cell death.