1. Meldonium, as a potential neuroprotective agent, promotes neuronal survival by protecting mitochondria in cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury.
- Author
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Yang W, Lei X, Liu F, Sui X, Yang Y, Xiao Z, Cui Z, Sun Y, Yang J, Yang X, Lin X, Bao Z, Li W, Ma Y, Wang Y, and Luo Y
- Subjects
- Animals, Male, Brain Ischemia pathology, Brain Ischemia drug therapy, Infarction, Middle Cerebral Artery complications, Infarction, Middle Cerebral Artery pathology, Membrane Potential, Mitochondrial drug effects, Oxidative Stress drug effects, Rats, Neuroprotective Agents pharmacology, Mitochondria drug effects, Mitochondria metabolism, Neurons drug effects, Neurons metabolism, Neurons pathology, Reperfusion Injury pathology, Reperfusion Injury drug therapy, Rats, Sprague-Dawley, Cell Survival drug effects, Apoptosis drug effects, Methylhydrazines pharmacology, Methylhydrazines therapeutic use
- Abstract
Background: Stroke is a globally dangerous disease capable of causing irreversible neuronal damage with limited therapeutic options. Meldonium, an inhibitor of carnitine-dependent metabolism, is considered an anti-ischemic drug. However, the mechanisms through which meldonium improves ischemic injury and its potential to protect neurons remain largely unknown., Methods: A rat model with middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) was used to investigate meldonium's neuroprotective efficacy in vivo. Infarct volume, neurological deficit score, histopathology, neuronal apoptosis, motor function, morphological alteration and antioxidant capacity were explored via 2,3,5-Triphenyltetrazolium chloride staining, Longa scoring method, hematoxylin and eosin staining, terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP-biotin nick end labeling assay, rotarod test, transmission electron microscopy and Oxidative stress index related kit. A primary rat hippocampal neuron model subjected to oxygen-glucose deprivation reperfusion was used to study meldonium's protective ability in vitro. Neuronal viability, mitochondrial membrane potential, mitochondrial morphology, respiratory function, ATP production, and its potential mechanism were assayed by MTT cell proliferation and cytotoxicity assay kit, cell-permeant MitoTracker
® probes, mitochondrial stress, real-time ATP rate and western blotting., Results: Meldonium markedly reduced the infarct size, improved neurological function and motor ability, and inhibited neuronal apoptosis in vivo. Meldonium enhanced the morphology, antioxidant capacity, and ATP production of mitochondria and inhibited the opening of the mitochondrial permeability transition pore in the cerebral cortex and hippocampus during cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury (CIRI) in rats. Additionally, meldonium improved the damaged fusion process and respiratory function of neuronal mitochondria in vitro. Further investigation revealed that meldonium activated the Akt/GSK-3β signaling pathway to inhibit mitochondria-dependent neuronal apoptosis., Conclusion: Our study demonstrated that meldonium shows a neuroprotective function during CIRI by preserving the mitochondrial function, thus prevented neurons from apoptosis., (© 2024. The Author(s).)- Published
- 2024
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