Therapeutic effects of melatonin on cerebral ischemia reperfusion injury: Role of Yap-OPA1 signaling pathway and mitochondrial fusion

The role of OPA1-related mitochondrial fusion in brain reperfusion stress has remained elusive. The aim of our study is to explore whether melatonin alleviates cerebral IR injury by modulating OPA1-related mitochondrial fusion. We found that melatonin reduced infarct area and suppressed neuron death during reperfusion stress. Biological studies have revealed that IR-inhibited mitochondrial fusion was largely reversed by melatonin via upregulated OPA1 expression. Knocking down OPA1 abrogated the protective effects of melatonin on mitochondrial energy metabolism and mitochondrial apoptosis. In addition, we also found that melatonin modified OPA1 expression via the Yap-Hippo pathway; blockade of the Yap-Hippo pathway induced neuron death and mitochondrial damage despite treatment with melatonin. Altogether, our data demonstrated that cerebral IR injury is closely associated with defective OPA1-related mitochondrial fusion. Melatonin supplementation enhances OPA1-related mitochondrial fusion by activating the Yap-Hippo pathway, ultimately reducing brain reperfusion stress.