PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Shu Zhang
AU  - Changiz Taghibiglou
AU  - Kimberly Girling
AU  - Zhifang Dong
AU  - Shinn-Zong Lin
AU  - Wei Lee
AU  - Woei-cherng Shyu
AU  - Yu Tian Wang
TI  - Critical Role of Increased PTEN Nuclear Translocation in Excitotoxic and Ischemic Neuronal Injuries
AID  - 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.5661-12.2013
DP  - 2013 May 01
TA  - The Journal of Neuroscience
PG  - 7997--8008
VI  - 33
IP  - 18
4099  - http://www.jneurosci.org/content/33/18/7997.short
4100  - http://www.jneurosci.org/content/33/18/7997.full
SO  - J. Neurosci.2013 May 01; 33
AB  - Stroke is the leading cause of disability in developed countries. However, no treatment is available beyond 3 h post-ictus. Here, we report that nuclear translocation of PTEN (phosphatase and tensin homolog deleted on chromosome TEN) is a delayed step causatively leading to excitotoxic (in vitro) and ischemic (in vivo) neuronal injuries. We found that excitotoxic stimulation of N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA) resulted in PTEN nuclear translocation in cultured neurons, a process requiring mono-ubiquitination at the lysine 13 residue (K13), as the translocation was prevented by mutation of K13 or a short interfering peptide (Tat-K13) that flanks the K13 residue. More importantly, using a rat model of focal ischemia, we demonstrated that systemic application of Tat-K13, even 6 h after stroke, not only reduced ischemia-induced PTEN nuclear translocation, but also strongly protected against ischemic brain damage. Our study suggests that inhibition of PTEN nuclear translocation may represent a novel after stroke therapy.