Single-cell RNA sequencing reveals that VIM and IFITM3 are vital targets of Dengzhan Shengmai capsule to protect against cerebral ischemic injury

Ischemic stroke is one of the leading causes of mortality, but therapies are limited. Dengzhan Shengmai capsule (DZSM) was included by the Chinese Pharmacopoeia 2020 and has been broadly used for the treatment of ischemic stroke. However, the mechanism of DZSM against ischemic stroke is unclear. This study used RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) and single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) to investigate the mechanism of action of DZSM against ischemic stroke. The rats were randomly divided into six groups: the Sham, I/R (water), I/R + DZSM-L (0.1134g/kg), I/R + DZSM-H (0.4536g/kg), I/R + NMDP (20mg/kg), and I/R + Ginaton (20mg/kg). The rats were administrated drugs for 5 days then followed by the ischemic brain injury caused by middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO). The neuroprotective effect was assessed by infraction rate, neurological deficit scores, regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF), hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) staining, and Nissl staining. Based on RNA-seq and scRNA-seq, the vital biological processes and core targets of DZSM against cerebral ischemia were revealed. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and immunofluorescence (IF) staining were used to investigate the vital biological processes and core targets of DZSM against ischemic stroke. Administration of DZSM significantly reduced the infarction rate and Zea Longa score, Garcia JH score, and ameliorated the reduction in rCBF. And alleviated the neuronal damage, such as increased neuronal density level and Nissl bodies density level. RNA-seq analysis revealed that DZSM played important roles in inflammation and apoptosis. ELISA and IF straining validation confirmed that DZSM significantly decreased the expression of IL-6, IL-1β, TNF-α, ICAM-1, IBA-1, MMP9, and Cleaved caspase-3 in MCAO rats. ScRNA-seq analysis identified 8 core targets in neurons including HSPB1, SPP1, MT2A, GFAP, IFITM3, VIM, CRIP1, and GPD1, and VIM and IFITM3 was verified to be decreased by DZSM in neurons. Our study illustrates the neuroprotective effect of DZSM against ischemia stroke, and VIM and IFITM3 were identified as vital targets in neurons of DZSM in protecting against MCAO-induced I/R injury. [Display omitted]