USP22 knockdown protects against cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury via destabilizing PTEN protein and activating the mTOR/TFEB pathway

Ubiquitin-specific protease 22 (USP22) expression was reported to be increased in response to ischemic brain damage, but the biological role and underlying mechanism remain little understood. USP22 shRNA was intravenously injected into the mouse brain, and then a middle cerebral artery occlusion/reperfusion (MCAO/R) mouse model was constructed, and the infarct volume, neurobehavioral deficit score, cell apoptosis, oxidative stress, and autophagy in vivo were evaluated. Oxygen-glucose deprivation/reperfusion (OGD/R) treated pheochromocytoma-12 (PC12) cells were used as an in vitro model of ischemia/reperfusion. The effects of USP22 on proliferation, apoptosis, oxidative stress, and autophagy were explored by CCK-8, flow cytometry, ELISA, and Western blot assays. The relationship between USP22 and the phosphatase and tensin homolog (PTEN) was measured by Co-IP and Western blot assays. Both USP22 and PTEN were highly expressed in MCAO/R mouse brain tissues and OGD/R-induced PC12 cells. In vitro, USP22 knockdown strongly improved OGD/R-mediated changes in cell viability, apoptosis, oxidative stress, and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) production in PC12 cells. USP22 bound to PTEN and stabilized PTEN expression by decreasing its ubiquitination. PTEN overexpression reversed the promoting effect of USP22 knockdown on cell viability and the inhibitory effects of USP22 knockdown on apoptosis, oxidative stress, and LDH release rate in PC12 cells subjected to OGD/R. PTEN silencing elevated the protein levels of p62, p-mTOR, TFEB, and LAMP1 and reduced the protein levels of LC3-II/LC3-I. USP22 expression levels were negatively correlated with mTOR expression levels, and USP22-shRNA-mediated expression of p62, p-mTOR, TFEB, and LAMP1 was reversed by rapamycin, an inhibitor of mTOR. In vivo, USP22 silencing significantly alleviated infarct volume, neurobehavioral impairments, cell apoptosis, oxidative stress, and autophagy in MCAO/R mice. USP22 knockdown exerts neuroprotective effects in cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury by downregulating PTEN and activating the mTOR/TFEB pathway.