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Neuroprotective Effects of Sinomenine on Experimental Autoimmune Encephalomyelitis via Anti-Inflammatory and Nrf2-Dependent Anti-Oxidative Stress Activity

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Abstract

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an autoimmune inflammatory disease of the central nervous system (CNS). Sinomenine (SIN), a bioactive alkaloid extracted from the Chinese medicinal plant Sinomenium acutum, has powerful anti-inflammatory and immunosuppressive therapeutic benefits. In our previous research, we found that SIN increased resistance to oxidative stress via the nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) signaling pathway in PC12 neuronal cells. However, whether SIN can improve the symptoms and pathological features of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), a murine model of MS, via the Nrf2 signaling pathway remains unclear. EAE was immunized followed by SIN treatment. Then we evaluated the effects of SIN in EAE. Subsequently, primary microglia were cultured to explore the effect of SIN on microglia activation. Further, the levels of Nrf2 and its downstream molecules were detected to assess the molecular mechanisms of SIN. We demonstrated that SIN effectively ameliorated the severity of EAE, accompanied by a reduction in the demyelination, axonal damage and inhibition of inflammatory cell infiltration. Mechanistically, SIN decreased the inflammatory cytokines expression, and suppressed microglia and astrocytes activation in EAE mice. Furthermore, SIN suppressed lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced microglial activation and the production of pro-inflammatory factors in vitro. Moreover, SIN inhibited oxidative stress via the activation of the Nrf2 signaling pathway. Our work proves that SIN exerts its neuroprotective effects by the Nrf2-dependent anti-oxidative stress and diminishing neuroinflammation, suggesting that the “antioxiflammation” effect of SIN is expected to be an ideal treatment strategy for MS/EAE.

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Data Availability

The datasets used and analyzed in the present study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

Abbreviations

ANOVA:

Analysis of variance

AOPP:

Advanced oxidation protein products

ARE:

Antioxidant-responsive elements

BBB:

Blood-brain barrier

BSA:

Bovine serum albumin

cDNA:

Complementary DNA

CNS:

Central nervous system

COX-2:

Cyclooxygenase-2

DAPI:

4′, 6-diamidino‐2‐phenylindole

dHEt:

Dihydroethidium

DMSO:

Dimethyl sulfoxide

DNA:

Deoxyribonucleic acid

EAE:

Experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis

Et:

Ethidium

FITC:

Fluorescein isothiocyanate

GFAP:

Glial fibrillary acidic protein

GM-CSF:

Granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor

H&E:

Hematoxylin and eosin

HO-1:

Heme oxygenase-1

i.p.:

Intraperitoneal injection

Iba1:

Ionized calcium binding adaptor molecule 1

IL:

Interleukin

iNOS:

Inducible nitric oxide synthase

LFB:

Luxol fast blue

LPS:

Lipopolysaccharide

MBP:

Myelin basic protein

MCP-1:

Monocyte chemoattractant protein-1

MDA:

Malondialdehyde

MOG:

Myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein

MS:

Multiple sclerosis

NF:

Neurofilaments

NO:

Nitric oxide

NQO1:

NAD(P)H: quinone oxidoreductase 1

Nrf2:

Nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2

NADPH:

Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate

PBS:

Phosphate-buffered saline

PFA:

Paraformaldehyde

qPCR:

Quantitative polymerase chain reaction

RNA:

Ribonucleic acid

ROS:

Reactive oxygen species

SD:

Standard deviation of the mean

SIN:

Sinomenine

TBST:

Tris-buffered saline/0.1% Tween-20

Th:

T helper

TNF-α:

Tumor necrosis factor-α

References

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the National Nature Science Foundation of China (Grant nos. U1504808 and 81801201), the Henan Provincial Key R&D and Promotion Project (Grant no. 212102311042) and the Henan Provincial Science and Technology R&D Project (Grant no. 222103810048).

Funding

This work was supported by the National Nature Science Foundation of China (Grant nos. U1504808 and 81801201), the Henan Provincial Key R&D and Promotion Project (Grant no. 212102311042) and the Henan Provincial Science and Technology R&D Project (Grant no. 222103810048).

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Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Contributions

Hua Fan, Yanhui Yang, and Dongmei Wang conceived and designed the experiments; Yang Yang, Qianqian Bai, Xiaofei Shi, and Lele Zhang performed the experiments; Yang Yang and Qianqian Bai analyzed the data; Hua Fan, Yang Yang, and Qianqian Bai wrote the paper.

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Hua Fan or Yanhui Yang.

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All applicable international, national, and/or institutional guidelines for the care and use of animals were followed. This article does not contain any studies with human participants performed by any of the authors.

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Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

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The authors declare no competing interests.

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Fan, H., Yang, Y., Bai, Q. et al. Neuroprotective Effects of Sinomenine on Experimental Autoimmune Encephalomyelitis via Anti-Inflammatory and Nrf2-Dependent Anti-Oxidative Stress Activity. Neuromol Med 25, 545–562 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12017-023-08756-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12017-023-08756-z

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