Lipopolysaccharide-induced Autophagy Increases SOX2-positive Astrocytes While Decreasing Neuronal Differentiation in the Adult Hippocampus

Inflammation alters the neural stem cell (NSC) lineage from neuronal to astrogliogenesis. However, the underlying mechanism is elusive. Autophagy contributes to the decline in adult hippocampal neurogenesis under E. coli lipopolysaccharide (LPS) stimulation. SRY-box transcription Factor 2 (SOX2) is critical for NSC self-renewal and proliferation. In this study, we investigated the role of SOX2 in induced autophagy and hippocampal adult neurogenesis under LPS stimulation. LPS (5 ng•100 g(-1)•hour(-1) for 7 days) was intraperitoneally infused into male Sprague–Dawley rats (8 weeks old) to induce mild systemic inflammation. Beclin 1 and autophagy protein 12 (Atg12) were significantly upregulated concurrent with decreased numbers of Ki67- and doublecortin (DCX)-positive cells in the dentate gyrus. Synchronically, the levels of phospho(p)-mTOR, the p-mTOR/mTOR ratio, p-P85s6k, and the p-P85s6k/P85s6k ratio were suppressed. In contrast, SOX2 expression was increased. The fluorescence micrographs indicated that the colocalization of Beclin 1 and SOX2 was increased in the subgranular zone (SGZ) of the dentate gyrus. Moreover, increased S100β-positive astrocytes were colocalized with SOX2 in the SGZ. Intracerebroventricular infusion of 3-methyladenine (an autophagy inhibitor) effectively prevented the increases in Beclin 1, Atg12, and SOX2. The SOX2(+)-Beclin 1(+) and SOX2(+)-S100β(+) cells were reduced. The levels of p-mTOR and p-P85s6k were enhanced. Most importantly, the number of DCX-positive cells was preserved. Altogether, these data suggest that LPS induced autophagy to inactivate the mTOR/P85s6k pathway, resulting in a decline in neural differentiation. SOX2 was upregulated to facilitate the NSC lineage, while the autophagy milieu could switch the SOX2-induced NSC lineage from neurogenesis to astrogliogenesis.