Research articleArachidonic acid has protective effects on oxygen-glucose deprived astrocytes mediated through enhancement of potassium channel TREK-1 activity

•AA suppressed glutamate uptake and decreased GLT-1 levels under normal conditions.•AA alleviated OGD-induced astrocyte death.•AA rescued the decreased glutamate uptake under OGD conditions.•AA increased expression levels of GLT-1 and TREK-1 under OGD conditions.

Polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) have neuroprotective effects against ischemic brain diseases. The newly discovered potassium channel “TREK-1” is a promising target for therapies against neurodegeneration. Arachidonic acid (AA) is an n-6 PUFA, as well as a potent TREK-1 activator. We previously showed that TREK-1 is expressed at high levels in astrocytes. However, the effect of AA on astrocytes in ischemia remains unknown. Here, we assessed the effects of 3-30 μM AA on astrocyte apoptosis, glutamate uptake, and expression of the astrocytic glutamate transporter 1 (GLT-1) and TREK-1 under different conditions. Under normal conditions, 3-30 μM AA showed no effect on astrocytic apoptosis or TREK-1 expression, whereas glutamate uptake decreased significantly and its change paralleled the decreased expression of GLT-1. When astrocytes were subjected to 4 h of oxygen-glucose deprivation (OGD), 10 μM AA markedly alleviated OGD-induced cell death, recovering from 63.50 ± 1.90% to 82.96 ± 4.63% of the control value. AA also rescued the decreased glutamate uptake and increased mRNA, as well as protein levels of GLT-1 and TREK-1. Our results provide new evidence of a protective effect of AA on astrocytes under OGD conditions, suggesting that a low concentration of AA may protect against brain ischemic diseases.