Neuroprotective effect of licochalcone A against oxygen‐glucose deprivation/reperfusion in rat primary cortical neurons by attenuating oxidative stress injury and inflammatory response via the SIRT1/Nrf2 pathway

Abstract

Perinatal hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) is a leading cause of neonatal death and neurological disability. Oxidative stress and neuroinflammation are typical pathogenic factors of HIE. Licochalcone A (LCA) exerts various biological properties, including anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activities. However, no data have been reported to elucidate the role of LCA in the development of HIE. In the present study, primary cultured rat cortical neurons were exposed to oxygen-glucose deprivation/reoxygenation (OGD/R) in vitro to simulate the in vivo situation of neonatal HIE. Interestingly, LCA significantly antagonized cell injury under OGD/R by increasing cell survival, inhibiting lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) release and cell apoptosis. Furthermore, treatment with LCA suppressed oxidative stress by decreasing reactive oxygen species (ROS) production and malondialdehyde (MDA) content, and increasing superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GPx) activities in primary rat cortical neurons after OGD/R. LCA stimulation also restrained OGD/R-triggered increase in pro-inflammatory cytokines tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) production. Importantly, LCA treatment effectively counteracts OGD/R-mediated downregulation of silent information regulator 1 (SIRT1), nuclear factor erythroid2-related factor 2 (Nrf2), and heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1), and upregulation of nuclear factor kappa B p65 (NF-κB p65). Moreover, administration with SIRT1 inhibitor EX527 partly abolished LCA-induced neuroprotective effects on rat cortical neurons exposed to OGD/R. In conclusion, our study indicates that LCA exerts a neuroprotective effect against OGD/R-induced neuronal injury in rat primary cortical neurons, suggesting that LCA might act as a candidate therapeutic target drug used for HIE and related diseases.

The effects of steamed ginger ethanolic extract on weight and body fat loss: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial

“…An a,bunsaturated carbonyl group is present not only in 6-shogaol, but also in curcumin and chalcone (Rodrigues et al, 2016), which are known to have excellent pharmacological activities. In the chalcone family, licochalcone A is present in licorice and is known to have antioxidant (Lv et al, 2015), anti-inflammatory (Jia et al, 2017;Kim et al, 2010), anti-allergic (Majima et al, 2004), and neuroprotective (Huang et al, 2017;Liu et al, 2018) effects. According to Megumi et al (2010), licochalcone A has anti-inflammatory effects, while reduced licochalcone A, which lacks a double bond, fails to inhibit inflammatory reactions.…”

Propofol inhibited autophagy through Ca2+/CaMKKβ/AMPK/mTOR pathway in OGD/R-induced neuron injury

“…Primary rat cerebral cortical neurons were isolated from the cerebral cortex of fetal Sprague-Dawley rats at embryonic day 17 as previously described (Liu et al 2018 ), with some alterations. Briefly, the dissected cortices were dissociated with 0.125% trypsin (Gibco, Grand Island, NY, USA) under sterile conditions at 37 °C for 10 min.…”

“…To mimic cerebral I/R in vitro, oxygen-glucose deprivation/reperfusion (OGD/R) was performed as described previously (Liu et al 2018 ). Oxygen-glucose deprivation (OGD): Primary cerebral cortical neurons were washed twice with phosphate-buffered saline (PBS, pH 7.4) and then refreshed with the glucose-free DMEM (Gibco).…”

“…Cell viability and LDH leakage assays were performed to evaluate neuronal damage as previously described (Liu et al 2018 ). After OGD/R treatment, primary cultured cortical neurons were incubated with Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8; Sigma-Aldrich) solution for another 4 h. Absorbance was measured using a microplate reader at 450 nm to assess cell viability.…”

Licochalcone A restrains microphthalmia‐associated transcription factor expression and growth by activating autophagy in melanoma cells via miR‐142‐3p/Rheb/mTOR pathway

“…Licochalcone A (LCA) belongs to a flavonoid compound, and it is purified from the roots of licorice. LCA exerts anti‐inflammatory, anti‐parasitic, antioxidant, and anticancer bioactivities (Huang et al, ; X. Liu, Ma, Wei, & Fan, ). The anticancer effects of LCA have been demonstrated in multiple types of cancers, such as gastric, cervical, and colon cancers (Qiu et al, ).…”