LncRNA-MEG3 functions as ferroptotic promoter to mediate OGD combined high glucose-induced death of rat brain microvascular endothelial cells via the p53-GPX4 axis

Abstract Background Individuals with diabetes are exposed to a higher risk of perioperative stroke than non-diabetics mainly due to persistent hyperglycemia. lncRNA-MEG3 (long non-coding RNA maternally expressed gene 3) has been considered as an important mediator in regulating ischemic stroke. However, the functional and regulatory roles of lncRNA-MEG3 in diabetic brain ischemic injury remain unclear. Results In this study, RBMVECs (the rat brain microvascular endothelial cells) were exposed to 6 h of OGD (oxygen and glucose deprivation), and subsequent reperfusion via incubating cells with glucose of various high concentrations for 24 h to imitate in vitro diabetic brain ischemic injury. It was shown that the marker events of ferroptosis and increased lncRNA-MEG3 expression occurred after the injury induced by OGD combined with hyperglycemic treatment. However, all ferroptotic events were reversed with the treatment of MEG3-siRNA. Moreover, in this in vitro model, p53 was also characterized as a downstream target of lncRNA-MEG3. Furthermore, p53 knockdown protected RBMVECs against OGD + hyperglycemic reperfusion-induced ferroptosis, while the overexpression of p53 exerted opposite effects, implying that p53 served as a positive regulator of ferroptosis. Additionally, the overexpression or knockdown of p53 significantly modulated GPX4 expression in RBMVECs exposed to the injury induced by OGD combined with hyperglycemic treatment. Furthermore, GPX4 expression was suppressed again after the introduction of p53 into cells silenced by lncRNA-MEG3. Finally, ChIP assay uncovered that p53 was bound to GPX4 promoter. Conclusions Altogether, these data revealed that, by modulating GPX4 transcription and expression, the lncRNA-MEG3-p53 signaling pathway mediated the ferroptosis of RBMVECs upon injury induced by OGD combined with hyperglycemic treatment.