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β-Asarone Exerts Antioxidative Effects on H2O2-Stimulated PC12 Cells by Activating Nrf2/HO-1 Pathway

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Abstract

Oxidative stress-mediated neuron damage is considered an important contributor to the pathogenesis and development of neurodegenerative diseases. Although β-asarone is widely known for its neuroprotective pharmacological properties, the exact mechanism of β-asarone against oxidative stress has not been fully elucidated. The aim of the present study was to investigate underlying mechanisms of β-asarone against oxidative damage in PC12 cells. Our results demonstrated that the treatment of β-asarone significantly alleviated the reduction in cell viability and the excessive accumulation of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), malondialdehyde (MDA) and reactive oxygen species (ROS) by increasing the activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT) and glutathione (GSH). Moreover, β-asarone pretreatment also activated nuclear factor 2 erythroid-related factor 2 (Nrf2) and its downstream target heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1), which was involved in quenching reactive oxygen to inhibit oxidative stress. Furthermore, when silenced by Nrf2 siRNA, the protective effect of β-asarone was reduced and the oxidative stress induced by H2O2 was enhanced. In conclusion, our findings revealed that β-asarone could reduce oxidative stress via activating Nrf2/HO-1 pathway in PC12 cells, highlighting the potential therapeutic role of β-asarone in neurodegenerative diseases.

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Acknowledgements

This research was supported by the Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 81173313) and Postgraduate Research & Practice Innovation Program of Jiangsu Province (CN) (SJKY19_1434).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Traditional Chinese Medicine·College of Integrated Chinese and Western Medicine, Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, China

    Xinxin Hei, Jingqian Xu, Jinjin Li & Tao Liu

  2. Liyang City Hospital of TCM, Changzhou, China

    Xinxin Hei

  3. College of Basic Medicine, Henan University of Chinese Medicine, Zhengzhou, China

    Miao Xie

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Hei, X., Xie, M., Xu, J. et al. β-Asarone Exerts Antioxidative Effects on H2O2-Stimulated PC12 Cells by Activating Nrf2/HO-1 Pathway. Neurochem Res 45, 1953–1961 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11064-020-03060-9

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