Role of Myo‐inositol in Ischemic Stroke Outcome in a Preclinical Tobacco Smoke Exposed Mouse Model
Authors: Villalba Heidi , Albekairi Thamer , Vaidya Bhuvaneshwar , Abbruscato Thomas J 
Published: June 2021

Tobacco smoking is a preventable risk factor for ischemic stroke in both males and females and contributes up to 14% of all stroke deaths. It has been reported that an increase in brain edema after ischemic stroke worsens long‐term clinical outcome, such as seen in tobacco smokers. Myo‐inositol (MI) is a major organic “non‐perturbing” osmolyte that promotes cell membrane stability and also a precursor for phosphoinositide signaling pathway. Our previous work reported that MI attenuated brain infarct and edema ratio in an ischemic stroke model coupled to preclinical diabetes and suggests that MI and MI transporters provide neuroprotection during/following stroke both in non‐diabetic and diabetic conditions through protection from brain edema. Since our lab has shown that tobacco smoke exposure worsens stroke edema similarly to diabetic conditions, the aim of the present study was to assess the neuroprotective effects of MI associated with ischemic mice exposed to tobacco smoke. In this study, we also investigated the role of MI transporters during stroke and post‐stroke outcomes especially related to the role of astrocytes cells, which are the most abundant glial cells in the brain and play an important role in post‐stroke reorganization, and indirectly protecting neuronal metabolic support. Primary mouse astrocytes were incubated with tobacco smoke extract (TSE) overnight prior for in vitro studies. Toxicity of TSE was measured using MTT assay after incubating astrocytes with TSE 6hr and 24hr. Therapeutic efficacy of MI was evaluated in a transient‐middle cerebral artery occlusion (tMCAO) mouse model after smoking 3R4F research cigarettes for 10 days. Uptake studies showed an increase of MI uptake increased with longer incubation of TSE in normoxic conditions. Additionally, it was also observed that uptake of MI increased during Oxygen Glucose Deprivation(OGD) conditions with prior exposure of TSE. These results are in support with our previous reports, where we found an increased expression of MI transports, Sodium Myo‐inositol Transporter 1 (SMIT1) and Sodium Dependent Glucose Transporter 6 (SGLT6) during OGD exposure. Preliminary animal studies using middle cerebral artery occlusion mouse model for in vivo stroke studies, demonstrated that post‐stroke administration of MI attenuated infarction size and edema ratios in tobacco smoke exposed animals compared to non‐tobacco smoked ischemic animals and also improved motor function in behavioral tests. Taken together with previous work, this study provides an insight into how MI may play a neuroprotective role in ischemic stroke injury and could significantly improve stroke outcome, especially in tobacco smoke populations. Further studies are required to understand the neuroprotective mechanisms of MI in ischemic stroke injury in reducing brain edema.

Support or Funding Information

R01NS076012 and R01DA029121

This abstract is from the Experimental Biology 2019 Meeting. There is no full text article associated with this abstract published in The FASEB Journal.