Mild hypothermia protects rat cortical neurons against oxygen-glucose deprivation/reoxygenation injury via the PI3K/Akt pathway.

Ischemic stroke is the most frequent cause of long-term morbidity and mortality in the elderly worldwide. Mild hypothermia (32-35°C) has been found to have a neuroprotective effect against ischemic stroke. However, the protective mechanisms remain unclear. In the present study, we explore the neuroprotective effect of mild hypothermia in neuron-astrocyte cocultures by oxygen-glucose deprivation/reoxygenation (OGD/R) as well as the underlying mechanisms. Thionin staining was performed and cell viability, extracellular glutamate concentration and the phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase/protein kinase B (PI3K/Akt) pathway-related proteins were detected after OGD/R. The results indicated that mild hypothermia significantly alleviated damage to Nissl bodies and increased the viability of neurons, which alleviated OGD/R-triggered neuronal injury. Furthermore, mild hypothermia significantly enhanced the phosphorylation of Akt (pAkt) and glutamate transporter-1 (GLT-1) and reduced extracellular glutamate concentration after OGD/R. When the PI3K inhibitor LY294002 was added, neuronal viability and the expression of pAkt and GLT-1 decreased, and extracellular glutamate concentration increased. The protective effect of mild hypothermia was counteracted by LY294002. There was no significant change in neuronal viability or the expression of pAkt and GLT-1 in the group treated with dihydrokainate, an inhibitor of GLT-1-function, compared with the mild hypothermia + OGD/R (HOGD) group, but extracellular glutamate concentration was increased. Consequently, mild hypothermia promoted glutamate clearance by regulating GLT-1 expression via the PI3K/Akt pathway, providing a neuroprotective effect against OGD/R injury.