Febuxostat, a xanthine oxidase inhibitor, regulated long noncoding RNAs and protected the brain after intracerebral hemorrhage.

Intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) is a devastating cerebrovascular disease and is associated with a high global health burden. Long noncoding RNAs are involved in the pathological damage of ICH. Febuxostat, one of the xanthine oxidase inhibitors, is commonly used in the treatment of hyperuricemia and has been studied in different pathological processes, and its protective effects have been proven in different organs. This study was conducted to investigate whether febuxostat protects brain via regulating long noncoding RNAs after ICH. The modified neurological severity score, wire hanging test, Evans blue perfusion and immunofluorescence were performed to test the protective effects of febuxostat in a mouse model of ICH. Whole transcriptome sequencing was conducted to identify the lncRNAs affected by febuxostat and their functions were analyzed. Febuxostat ameliorated behavioral abnormalities and protected the blood-brain barrier after ICH. Fifteen lncRNAs regulated by febuxostat after ICH were detected. These 15 lncRNAs were associated with 83 gene ontology items. In total, 35 genes, 15 mRNAs and 202 miRNAs were regarded as potential targets for the 15 lncRNAs; 183 co-expressed genes were identified for these 15 lncRNAs and the co-expression network was constructed. Potential binding between lncRNAs and mRNAs was also studied. Enrichment analysis revealed that the functions of the 15 lncRNAs were related to maintaining the blood-brain barrier. This study demonstrated febuxostat protected brain after ICH. Fifteen lncRNAs were regulated and were associated with the effects of febuxostat on BBB integrity after ICH.