STAT1 is activated in neurons after ischemia and contributes to ischemic brain injury

Signal transducers and activators of transcription (STAT) proteins are a family of transcription factors that play a crucial role in growth and differentiation in a variety of cell types. Among them, STAT1, which is expressed in the brain and directly activated by reactive oxygen species, participates in the regulation of cytokine-signaling and cellular responses, particularly to interferon-gamma. Very little, however, is known about the importance of STAT1 during brain injury. The authors found that STAT1 was phosphorylated at tyrosine(701) and serine(727) and translocated into neuronal nuclei within hours after middle cerebral artery occlusion. At later time points, STAT1 immunoreactivity colocalized with TUNEL-positive neurons, thereby suggesting a role in cell death. In mice genetically deficient in STAT1 expression, the volume of ischemic brain injury was reduced, neurologic deficits were less severe, and TUNEL-positive neurons were also less numerous compared with wild-type mice. STAT1-knockout mice showed increased phosphorylated Akt and decreased procaspase-3 cleavage. Major strain differences in phosphorylated STAT3 or cyclooxygenase-2 protein expression were not found after ischemia. These results indicate that STAT1 is activated and translocated within ischemic neurons and may contribute to brain injury by regulating transcription and phosphorylation of proteins related to apoptosis and cell death.