Inhibition of Lats1/p-YAP1 pathway mitigates neuronal apoptosis and neurological deficits in a rat model of traumatic brain injury

Di Li  ¹ , Jia-Xuan Ji  ² , Yi-Tian Xu  ³ , Hai-Bo Ni  ⁴ , Qin Rui  ⁵ , Hui-Xiang Liu  ⁴ , Feng Jiang  ⁴ , Rong Gao  ⁴ , Gang Chen  ⁶

Affiliations

• ¹ Department of Neurosurgery and Translational Medicine Center, The First People’s Hospital of Zhangjiagang, Soochow University, Suzhou, China.
• ² Department of Neurosurgery, Zhangjiagang Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Suzhou, China.
• ³ School of Basic Medical Sciences, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China.
• ⁴ Department of Neurosurgery, The First People’s Hospital of Zhangjiagang, Soochow University, Suzhou, China.
• ⁵ Clinical laboratory, The First People’s Hospital of Zhangjiagang, Soochow University, Suzhou, China.
• ⁶ Department of Neurosurgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou, China.

Abstract

Aims: To investigate the roles of Lats1/p-YAP1 pathway in TBI-induced neuronal apoptosis and neurological deficits in rats.

Results: We found that Lats1 and YAP1 were expressed in cerebral cortex neurons of Sprague-Dawley rats, and the phosphorylation levels of Lats1 and YAP1 in injured regions were significantly increased after TBI. Furthermore, inhibition of Lats1 not only decreased the level of p-YAP1, but also attenuated neuronal apoptosis and neurological impairment.

Conclusions: Our work demonstrates that inhibition of Lats1/p-YAP1 pathway mitigates neuronal apoptosis and neurological deficits in a rat model of TBI.

Keywords: Lats1; YAP1; neurological deficit; neuronal apoptosis; traumatic brain injury.