Transient global cerebral ischemia induces up-regulation of MLTKα in hippocampal CA1 neurons

MLTK (mixed-lineage kinase-like mitogen-activated protein triple kinase) is a member of the mitogen-activated protein kinase family and functioned as a mitogen activated kinase kinase kinase. MLTK alpha, one of the alternatively spliced forms of MLTK, could activate the c-Jun N-terminal kinase pathway, which involved in cellular stress responses and apoptosis. But the role of MLTK alpha in neural apoptosis was still unclear. Here, we performed a transient global cerebral ischemia model (TGCI) in adult rats and detected the dynamic changes of MLTK alpha in hippocampal CA1 neurons and brain cortex. We found the MLTK alpha expression was increased shortly after TGCI and peaked after 8 h. In spatial distribution, MLTK alpha was widely located in neurons rather than astrocytes and microglia. Moreover, there was a concomitant up-regulation of active caspase-3. Taken together, we hypothesized the up-regulation of MLTK alpha played an essential role in the apoptosis of hippocampal CA1 neurons.