2.1 Clinical samples
A total of 56 participants were recruited from China-Japan Union Hospital of Jilin University: 36 surgically treated PD patients and 20 healthy donors who have undergone related examinations as required. All the recruiters provided written informed consent. Moreover, this research has garnered approval from the Ethics Committee of China-Japan Union Hospital of Jilin University Hospital. All the plasma samples (fasting elbow vein blood, 10 mL) were obtained from the recruiters in the morning. After that, the samples were subjected to experimental examination after centrifugal separation.
2.2 Animals and treatment
A total of 45 Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats (male, 240 ~ 260 g, clean grade) were obtained from the Experimental animal center, Bethune Medical Department, Jilin University. All of the rats were kept under standard laboratory conditions. All animal experiments had been given approval from the Animal Experiment Ethics Review Committee of China-Japan Union Hospital of Jilin University and conducted following the guidelines for laboratory animal care and use of the National Institutes of Health (NIH publication number 8023, 1978 revision). A total of 45 SD rats were randomly divided into 3 groups, namely the Sham group, the Rot + LV-si-NC group, and the Rot + LV-si-SNHG7 group. For the Sham group: sunflower oil was subcutaneously injected into the back of SD rats for 42 days (1 ml/kg/day). For the Rot + LV-si-NC group and Rot + LV-si-SNHG7 group: rotenone (MedChemExpress, HY-B1756) was subcutaneously injected at the rats’ back for 42 days consecutively (1.5 mg/kg/day). The small inference RNA (siRNA) lentivirus vector targeting SNHG7 (LV-si-SNHG7) or LV-si-NC (GeneChem Co. Ltd, Shanghai, China) were inserted into the linearized vector GV115 to construct the siRNA recombinant lentiviral vector. Two days before Rot treatment, the rats were deeply anesthetized via isoflurane in oxygen and nitrous oxide, and then positioned on a stereotactic frame (Stoelting, Wood Dale, IL). The skull surface was exposed with a hole drilled to locate the needle. Hamilton syringes (5 µL, 33-gauge needle) were applied here to inject the rats with 1 µL/side of recombinant LV-si-SNHG7 or LV-si-NC into the dorsal hippocampus (anterior − 5.5; lateral + 1.6; dorsoventral − 7.5 from bregma) (0.2 µL/min, 10 min). The behavioral evaluation was carried out on day 0, 14, and 42. Rats were sacrificed by decapitation following the behavioral evaluation on the 42th day. After anesthetization and perfusion, the rat brains were collected, washed and frozen in liquid nitrogen. They were stored at − 80 °C for further use.
2.3 Behavioral assessment
Using computer-aided infrared motion detection system (Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, China), spontaneous sports activities were measured. The rats were placed in transparent plexiglass bottles (40 cm across, 13 cm high), making them get used to the environment 5 minutes prior to the experiment. Then the number of horizontal and vertical movements was recorded in 10 minutes.
On the carousel experiment: First, the rats were placed on a fixed rod (3 cm across) for 30 seconds, during which any fallen animals were placed back on the rod. Next, the conditioned response of the rats was made to formulate in the following 120 seconds at a constant speed of 15 RP/m. For those failed to formulate the response, two additional chances were granted. During the fatigue time after the last training, the rats were placed on the rod at a constant speed of 15 RP/m (120 seconds per time) to evaluate their motor skills. Measurements were recorded three times at 30-minute intervals per round.
On the bevel experiment: To begin with, the rats were placed on the bevel rough surface at an angle of 60°. Then, the duration during which the rats of each group stay on the bevel was recorded respectively. When the rat stayed on the slope for over 3 minutes, it was recorded as 180 seconds. Three experiments were performed on each animal.
2.4 Immunohistochemical staining
The brain slices were put in a methanol solution (0.3% H2O2) and got incubated (37 °C, 15 min) to inactivate the endogenous peroxidase. Next, the sections were rinsed with PBS (0.01 mol/L, pH 7.4) for 5 min (× 3), and incubated with 10% normal goat serum (37 °C, 15 min). When the goat serum was removed, the slices were added with rabbit antibodies including anti-TH (1: 200; Abcam, ab75875, MA, USA), anti-Caspase3 (1:200, Abcam, ab13847, MA, USA) and kept in the wet box (4 °C) overnight. Then, the samples were rinsed by PBS for 5 min (× 3), added with biotin-labeled goat anti-mouse IgG (1: 200, Beijing Zhongshan Biotechnology Co., Ltd.), and incubated (37 °C, 30 min). Afterwards, we washed them with PBS for 5 min (× 3), added ABC solution (Beijing Zhongshan Biotechnology) Co., Ltd.), and incubated them at 37 °C for 30 min. Further, the sections were rinsed with PBS for 5 min (× 3) and kept for DAB color development for 10 ~ 15 min. Lastly, the sections were dehydrated with gradient alcohol, made transparent via xylene, sealed with neutral gum, and ultimately observed under an optical microscope.
2.5 Immunofluorescence
The frozen sections were taken, hydrated with 0.01 mol/L phosphate buffer for 20 min and repaired with citric acid in the microwave for about 5 min. The membranes were ruptured with 0.3% Triton X-100 for 30 min, washed with 0.01 mol/L phosphate buffer for 5 min (× 3), blocked with antigen blocking solution (1 h). Next, the rabbit anti-Iba1 antibody (1: 200; Abcam, ab178846, MA, USA) was added dropwise for incubation overnight (4 °C). Then, the specimens were subjected to 0.01 mol/L phosphate buffer washing for 5 min (× 3), added with goat anti-rabbit fluorescent IgGII antibody labeled with AlexaFluor 555, and incubated (37 °C, 1 h) in the dark room. We washed the sections with 0.01 mol/L phosphate buffer for 5 min (× 4), mounted them via the medium with 4'6-diamino-2-phenylindole (DAPI) and ultimately put them under fluorescent microscope observation. Three slices of brain tissue at approximately the same level per rat were taken to observe Iba1 positive microglia around the substantia nigra at five randomly selected fields (× 200) and calculated for the number of positive cells.
2.6 Cell culture and transfection
Human dopaminergic neuroblastoma SH-SY5Y cells and microglia BV2 cells were obtained from the Chinese Academy of Sciences (Shanghai, China) and cultured in Dulbecco's modified Eagle's mediu–Ham's Nutrient Mixture F-12 (DMEM/F12; Invitrogen, Carlsbad, CA) supplemented with 10% fetal bovine serum (FBS), penicillin and streptomycin (1%) in humidified air (37 °C, 5% CO2). Then, the SH-SY5Y cells were further cultured in neuron medium (ScienCell Research Laboratories, Carlsbad, CA) (37 °C, 5% CO2), added with 1% neuron growth agent and 1% penicillin and streptomycin.
Rotenone was dissolved in dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO). The final DMSO solution concentration was 0.01%. SH-SY5Y cell damage was induced using rotenone (500 nM) for 24 h and BV2 cell activation was induced by lipopolysaccharide (Sigma, 10 µg/mL). Twenty-four hours before transfection, cells (logarithmic growth phase) were seeded into a 96-well microplate to achieve a 60–80% fusion rate. Then the expressing vectors of SNHG7 overexpression plasmids, si-SNHG7, miR-425-5p mimics and their negative controls (GenePharma, Shanghai, China) were transferred into SH-SY5Y and BV2 cells using Lipofectamine 2000 Reagent (ThermoFisher Scientific, CA, USA) in line with the manufacturer's recommendations. The cells were harvested for further experiments after 48 hours’ transfection.
2.7 quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR)
First, total RNA was extracted from human plasma, rat tissues and SH-SY5Y cells using TRIzol reagent (Invitrogen, Carlsbad, CA, USA). After being checked for purity, it was then reverse transcribed into cDNA via RevertAid First Strand cDNA Synthesis Kit (Thermo Fisher Scientific, Waltham, MA, USA). Subsequently, we used SYBR® Premix-Ex-Taq™ (Takara, TX, USA) and ABI7300 system for quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). The total volume of the PCR system was 30 µL with each sample containing 300 ng cDNA. Under the amplification procedure, the first denaturation lasted 10 minutes (95 °C), and the following 45 cycles were: 95 °C (10 seconds), 60 °C (30 seconds), and 85 °C (20 seconds). All fluorescence data were converted into relative quantification, seeing β-actin as the endogenous control for SNHG7, and U6 for miR-425-5p. Additionally, the 2−ΔΔCt method was used for statistics with all experiments repeated in triplicate. The RNA primer sequences were as follows: SNHG7 Forward: 5'-aaatgtcagcagtgccagtg-3', Reverse, 5'-gatggggtttcaggcagttg-3'; miR-425-5p, Forward, 5'-TGCGGAATGACACGATCACTCCCG-3', Reverse, 5'-CCAGTGCAGGGTCCGAGGT-3'; U6 Forward, 5'-TGCGGGTGCTCGCTTCGGCAGC-3', Reverse, 5'-CCAGTGCAGGGTCCGAGGT-3', β-actin Forward, 5'-CAGAGCCTCGCCTTTGCC-3', Reverse༚5'-GTCGCCCACATAGGAATC-3'.
2.8 Western blot
When rat brain tissues or cells were ready, we removed the medium and added protein lysate (Roche) to separate the total protein. Next, 50 g total protein was added to 12% polyacrylamide gel for electrophoresis (100V, 2 h). Then, the protein samples were electroblotted onto polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) membranes. After blocking with 5% skimmed milk powder (1 h, room temperature), the membranes were washed 3 times with TBST for 10 min each time. Afterwards, the membranes were incubated (4 °C) overnight, followed by an incubation with antibodies as follows: anti-tyrosine hydroxylase (Th) (1: 1000, Abacam, ab75875, MA, USA), anti-TRAF5 (1: 1000, Abacam, ab137763, MA, USA), anti-I-κB (1: 1000, Abacam, ab32518, MA, USA), p-NF-κB (phospho S536) (Abcam, ab86299, 1: 1000), anti-NF-kB (1: 1000, Abacam, ab32536, MA, USA), anti-Nrf2 (1: 1000, Abacam, ab31163, MA, USA), anti-HO-1 (1: 1000, Abacam, ab13248, MA, USA) ), anti-Bax (1: 1000, Abacam, ab32503, MA, USA), anti-Bcl2 (1: 1000, Abacam, ab182858, MA, USA), and anti-Caspase3 (1: 1000, Abacam, ab13847, MA, USA), anti-Iba1 (1: 200; Abcam, ab178846, MA, USA). Washed with TBST, the membranes were incubated with horseradish peroxidase (HRP) labeled anti-rabbit or anti-mouse secondary antibody (concentration 1: 3000) for 1 h. Then, we washed the membrane 3 times with TBST (10 min each). Finally, Western blot reagent (Invitrogen) was applied for color imaging, using Image J for analyzing the gray value of each protein.
2.9 MTT Assay
100 µL SH-SY5Y cells (logarithmic growth phase) were seeded into a 96-well plate (about 4 × 103/well) and incubated at 37 °C, with 5% CO2 and 100% humidity for 24 hours. Afterward, we added an equal volume of PBS to the control group (5 repetitive wells each group) and continued to add 50 µL MTT (5 g/L) after 24 hours of incubation. 4 hours later, the supernatant was discarded and 150 µL DMSO was added into each well. Then the plate was placed in a platform rocker for shaking for 1 hour. When the crystals were dissolved, a microplate reader was utilized to detect the OD value in each well (570 nm wavelength).
2.10 Measurement of malondialdehyde (MDA), superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-PX)
After the brain tissues were weighed, 9 times volumes of cold saline (containing protease inhibitors) were added for homogenization Then, the samples subjected to a centrifugation at 3000 xg for 20 minutes (4 °C). After that, the supernatant was collected. Regarding Rot-treated SNHG7 cells, the cell supernatant was collected according to the group, and centrifuged at 1000 × g (10 min, 4 °C). Next, the supernatant was collected. SOD and GSH content in brain tissues or cells were determined respectively with the help of Superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (Glutathione peroxidase (GSH-PX) and malondialdehyde (MDA), a procedure carried out under the requirements of the kit. The above oxidative stress factor detection kits were purchased from Nanjing Jiancheng Bioengineering Institute (Nanjing Jiancheng Bioengineering Institute, China).
2.11 Enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA)
To begin with, the test tube was filled with 10 mL venous blood. Standing for 1 hour at room temperature, the sample was subject to a centrifugation (3000 r/min, 5–10 minutes). Next, the upper serum was collected and relocated to the refrigerator (-20 °C) for overall detection. Following that, the SD rat brain tissues were weighed, shredded, and added with 12 volumes of normal saline. The brain tissues in normal saline were then transported to a homogenizer for thorough mixing and crushing to deliver a brain tissue homogenate. Furthermore, the brain tissue homogenate was centrifuged (6000 r/min, 15 min, 4 °C), and then the supernatant was collected for detection. Then, the supernatant of Rot-treated SNHG7 cells was collected based on the group. After a 10 min centrifugation (1000 × g, 4 °C), the supernatant was collected as required.
All experimental steps conformed to the instructions provided by the ELISA kit in determining the content of IL-1β, IL-6, TNF-α and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) release. The test kits were obtained from Nanjing Jiancheng Bioengineering Institute (NanJing JianCheng Bioengineering Institute, China).
2.12 Luciferase reporter assay
The DNA sequences amplified were cloned into the pmirGLO dual luciferase vector (Promega, Madison, WI, USA) to generate wild-type (WT) SNHG7 3-UTR, mutant (MUT) SNHG7 3-UTR, wild-type (WT) TRAF5 3-UTR, mutant (MUT) TRAF5 3-UTR reporter vectors. The cells were seeded into a 24-well plate overnight. Then Lipofectamine 2000 was used to transfect SNHG7-WT, SNHG7-MUT, TRAF5-WT, TRAF5-MUT reporter vectors and miR-425-5p mimics (Invitrogen, Carlsbad, CA, USA) into SH-SY5Y cells. Through the dual-luciferase reporter system (Promega, Madison, WI, USA), luciferase activity was determined after 48 h of transfection.
2.13 RNA immunoprecipitation (RIP) assay
To determine the relations between SNHG7 and miR-425-5p, miR-425-5p and TRAF5, Magna-RNA combined with the binding protein immunoprecipitation kit (millipore, Bedford, Ma, USA) was used to conduct the RIP test. The SH-SY5Y cells (transfected with miR-424-5p or miR-NC) at 80% confluence were collected and lysed in a complete RIP lysate buffer. Then the cell lines were co-immunized with RIP buffer containing magnetic beads with anti-argonaute 2 (Ago2) antibody (Millipore) or negative control healthy rat IgG (Millipore). The immunoprecipitated RNA was isolated and the relative enrichment of SNHG7 and TRAF5 in the lysates was examined by qRT-PCR.
2.14 Statistical analysis
The data analysis was carried out via SPSS software (version 20.0, Chicago, IL, USA). The data were displayed as mean ± standard deviation (SD). Student’ t-test, along with χ2 were employed to access the statistical differences between the two groups. The correlation relationship was determined by Pearson correlation test. P < 0.05 was regarded as statistically significant.