Protective Effects of ShcA Protein Silencing for Photothrombotic Cerebral Infarction

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) exacerbate stroke-induced cell damage. We found that ShcA, a protein that regulates ROS, is highly expressed in a Rose Bengal photothrombosis model. We investigated whether ShcA is essential for mitophagy in ROS-induced cellular damage and determined whether ROS exacerbate mitochondrial dysfunction via ShcA protein expression. Ischemic stroke was generated by Rose Bengal photothrombosis in mice. To silence ShcA protein expression in the mouse brain, ShcA-targeting siRNA-encapsulated nanoparticles were intrathecally injected into the cisterna magna. Upon staining with antibodies against ShcA counterpart caspase-3 or NeuN, we found that the ShcA protein expression was increased in apoptotic neurons. In addition, mitochondrial dysfunction and excessive mitophagy were evident in photothrombotic stroke tissue. Infarct volumes were significantly reduced, and neurological deficits were diminished in the ShcA siRNA nanoparticle-treated group, compared with the negative control siRNA nanoparticle-treated group. We confirmed that the reduction of ShcA expression by nanoparticle treatment rescued the expression of genes, associated with mitochondrial dynamics and mitophagy mediation in a stroke model. This study suggests that the regulation of ShcA protein expression can be a therapeutic target for reducing brain damage with mitochondrial dysfunction caused by thrombotic infarction.