Abstract
Cardiac arrest (CA) is common and devastating, and neuroprotective therapies for brain injury after CA remain limited. Neuroinflammation has been a target for two promising but underdeveloped post-CA therapies: neural stem cell (NSC) engrafting and glibenclamide (GBC). It is critical to understand whether one therapy has superior efficacy over the other and to further understand their immunomodulatory mechanisms. In this study, we aimed to evaluate and compare the therapeutic effects of NSC and GBC therapies post-CA. In in vitro studies, BV2 cells underwent oxygen-glucose deprivation (OGD) for three hours and were then treated with GBC or co-cultured with human NSCs (hNSCs). Microglial polarization phenotype and TLR4/NLRP3 inflammatory pathway proteins were detected by immunofluorescence staining. Twenty-four Wistar rats were randomly assigned to three groups (control, GBC, and hNSCs, N = 8/group). After 8 min of asphyxial CA, GBC was injected intraperitoneally or hNSCs were administered intranasally in the treatment groups. Neurological-deficit scores (NDSs) were assessed at 24, 48, and 72 h after return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC). Immunofluorescence was used to track hNSCs and quantitatively evaluate microglial activation subtype and polarization. The expression of TLR4/NLRP3 pathway-related proteins was quantified via Western blot. The in vitro studies showed the highest proportion of activated BV2 cells with an increased expression of TLR4/NLRP3 signaling proteins were found in the OGD group compared to OGD + GBC and OGD + hNSCs groups. NDS showed significant improvement after CA in hNSC and GBC groups compared to controls, and hNSC treatment was superior to GBC treatment. The hNSC group had more inactive morphology and anti-inflammatory phenotype of microglia. The quantified expression of TLR4/NLRP3 pathway-related proteins was significantly suppressed by both treatments, and the suppression was more significant in the hNSC group compared to the GBC group. hNSC and GBC therapy regulate microglial activation and the neuroinflammatory response in the brain after CA through TLR4/NLRP3 signaling and exert multiple neuroprotective effects, including improved neurological function and shortened time of severe neurological deficit. In addition, hNSCs displayed superior inflammatory regulation over GBC.