Tonicity-responsive enhancer-binding protein promotes diabetic neuroinflammation and cognitive impairment via upregulation of lipocalin-2

BACKGROUND: Diabetic individuals have increased circulating inflammatory mediators which are implicated as underlying causes of neuroinflammation and memory deficits. Tonicity-responsive enhancer-binding protein (TonEBP) promotes diabetic neuroinflammation. However, the precise role of TonEBP in the diabetic brain is not fully understood. METHODS: We employed a high-fat diet (HFD)-only fed mice or HFD/streptozotocin (STZ)-treated mice in our diabetic mouse models. Circulating TonEBP and lipocalin-2 (LCN2) levels were measured in type 2 diabetic subjects. TonEBP haploinsufficient mice were used to investigate the role of TonEBP in HFD/STZ-induced diabetic mice. In addition, RAW 264.7 macrophages were given a lipopolysaccharide (LPS)/high glucose (HG) treatment. Using a siRNA, we examined the effects of TonEBP knockdown on RAW264 cell’ medium/HG-treated mouse hippocampal HT22 cells. RESULTS: Circulating TonEBP and LCN2 levels were higher in experimental diabetic mice or type 2 diabetic patients with cognitive impairment. TonEBP haploinsufficiency ameliorated the diabetic phenotypes including adipose tissue macrophage infiltrations, neuroinflammation, blood–brain barrier leakage, and memory deficits. Systemic and hippocampal LCN2 proteins were reduced in diabetic mice by TonEBP haploinsufficiency. TonEBP (+ / −) mice had a reduction of hippocampal heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) expression compared to diabetic wild-type mice. In particular, we found that TonEBP bound to the LCN2 promoter in the diabetic hippocampus, and this binding was abolished by TonEBP haploinsufficiency. Furthermore, TonEBP knockdown attenuated LCN2 expression in lipopolysaccharide/high glucose-treated mouse hippocampal HT22 cells. CONCLUSIONS: These findings indicate that TonEBP may promote neuroinflammation and cognitive impairment via upregulation of LCN2 in diabetic mice. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12974-021-02331-8.