STAT3 phosphorylation mediates high glucose—impaired cell autophagy in an HDAC1‐dependent and ‐independent manner in Schwann cells of diabetic peripheral neuropathy

ABSTRACT Schwann cells are the main supportive cells of the peripheral nerves. Schwann cells suffer inhibition of autophagy under hyperglycemia treatment in diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN). However, the exact mechanism is still not fully elucidated. We first observed the decrease of autophagy markers (LC3‐II/LC3‐I, P62) in the sciatic nerves of diabetic mice vs . normal mice, accompanied with the loss of myelinated nerve fibers and abnormal myelin sheath. In line with this, LC3‐II/LC3‐I and P62 were also significantly reduced in high glucose—treated rat Schwann cell 96 (RSC96) cells compared with normal glucose—treated cells. Furthermore, we found that trichostatin A [an inhibitor of histone deacetylase (HDAC)] evidently improved LC3‐II/LC3‐I in high glucose—treated RSC96 cells, without an effect on P62 expression. Again, HDAC1 and HDAC5 were revealed to be increased in RSC96 cells stimulated with high glucose. Inhibition of HDAC1 but not HDAC5 by small hairpin RNA vector enhanced LC3‐II/LC3‐I in high glucose—cultured RSC96 cells. In addition, LC3‐II conversion regulators [autophagy‐related protein (Atg)3, Atg5, and Atg7] were detected in high glucose—treated and HDAC1‐knockdown RSC96 cells, and Atg3 was proven to be the key target of HDAC1. The presuppression of Atg3 offset the improvement of LC3‐II/LC3‐I resulting from HDAC1 inhibition in high glucose—treated RSC96 cells. The Janus kinase (JAK)—signal transducer and activator of transcription (STAT) signaling pathway was activated in RSC96 cells treated with high glucose, which was indicated by increased STAT3 phosphorylation. Blocking STAT3 phosphorylation by chemical inhibitor AG490 induced HDAC1 down‐regulation followed by increases in Atg3 and LC3‐II/LC3‐I. Interestingly, we also found that AG490 treatment enhanced P62 expression in high glucose—stimulated RSC96 cells. Taken together, our findings demonstrate that hyperglycemia inhibits LC3‐II/LC3‐I in an HDAC1‐Atg3—dependent manner and decreases P62 expression in an HDAC‐independent manner via the JAK‐STAT3 signaling pathway in the Schwann cells of DPN.—Du, W., Wang, N., Li, F. Jia, K., An, J., Liu, Y., Wang, Y., Zhu, L., Zhao, S. Hao, J. STAT3 phosphorylation mediates high glucose—impaired cell autophagy in an HDAC1‐dependent and ‐independent manner in Schwann cells of diabetic peripheral neuropathy. FASEB J. 33, 8008–8021 (2019). www.fasebj.org