Involvement of Mincle and Syk in the changes to innate immunity after ischemic stroke

Accumulating evidence shows that post-ischemic inflammation originated by Toll-like receptors (TLR) plays critical roles in ischemic stroke. However, the functions of other innate immune receptors are poorly understood in cerebral ischemia. Macrophage-inducible C-type lectin, Mincle, is one of the innate immune receptor C-type lectin-like receptor (CLR) to response against dying cells. In the present study, we showed that Mincle, its ligand SAP130, and its downstream phospho-Syk/Syk were upregulated after ischemia, and that Mincle is expressed in immune and non-immune cells in the ischemic brains of mice and human. We treated mice with piceatannol, a Syk inhibitor, and consequently the infarct volume and swelling were suppressed by piceatannol. The levels of phospho-Syk, MMP9 and ICAM-1 were downregulated, and the level of Claudin5 was uplegurated in piceatannol-treated groups. These data indicate that innate immune system, such as Mincle and Syk plays a pivotal role in the pathogenesis after the ischemia and reperfusion.