Protective effects of peptide FK18 against neuro‑excitotoxicity in SH‑SY5Y cells

  • Authors:
    • Shuyu Xiong
    • Mingming Ma
    • Yupeng Xu
    • Fang Wei
    • Qing Gu
    • Xiangui He
    • Xun Xu
  • View Affiliations

  • Published online on: March 1, 2021     https://doi.org/10.3892/etm.2021.9880
  • Article Number: 451
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Abstract

Excitotoxic neuronal injury is associated with numerous acute and chronic neurological disorders, such as Alzheimer's disease and glaucoma. Neuroprotection is a direct and effective therapeutic approach, with small‑molecule bioactive peptides displaying certain advantages, including high membrane permeability, low immunogenicity and convenient synthesis and modification. FK18 is a novel peptide derived from basic fibroblast growth factor, which is a protein with neuroprotective effects. The present study aims to evaluate the neuroprotective effect of FK18 against excitotoxic injury. For this purpose, cell viability was determined by the MTS assay, cell apoptosis was assessed by flow cytometry and the TUNEL assay; expression of antiapoptotic proteins Bcl‑2, proapoptotic protein Bax and caspase‑3 as well as the phosphorylation of Akt and Erk was estimated by western blotting. The results of the present study demonstrated that FK18 effectively increased the viability of, and attenuated glutamate‑induced apoptosis of SH‑SY5Y cells. In addition, FK18 significantly increased Akt phosphorylation and decreased Erk phosphorylation in SH‑SY5Y cells. FK18 also increased the Bcl‑2/Bax ratio and decreased the level of cleaved‑caspase‑3 in SY5Y cells, which was reversed by the Akt pathway inhibitor LY294002, but not by the Erk pathway inhibitor U0126. The findings of the present study suggested that FK18 may be a promising therapeutic agent for the inhibition of neuronal cell death in multiple neurological diseases involving excitotoxicity.
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May-2021
Volume 21 Issue 5

Print ISSN: 1792-0981
Online ISSN:1792-1015

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Spandidos Publications style
Xiong S, Ma M, Xu Y, Wei F, Gu Q, He X and Xu X: Protective effects of peptide FK18 against neuro‑excitotoxicity in SH‑SY5Y cells. Exp Ther Med 21: 451, 2021
APA
Xiong, S., Ma, M., Xu, Y., Wei, F., Gu, Q., He, X., & Xu, X. (2021). Protective effects of peptide FK18 against neuro‑excitotoxicity in SH‑SY5Y cells. Experimental and Therapeutic Medicine, 21, 451. https://doi.org/10.3892/etm.2021.9880
MLA
Xiong, S., Ma, M., Xu, Y., Wei, F., Gu, Q., He, X., Xu, X."Protective effects of peptide FK18 against neuro‑excitotoxicity in SH‑SY5Y cells". Experimental and Therapeutic Medicine 21.5 (2021): 451.
Chicago
Xiong, S., Ma, M., Xu, Y., Wei, F., Gu, Q., He, X., Xu, X."Protective effects of peptide FK18 against neuro‑excitotoxicity in SH‑SY5Y cells". Experimental and Therapeutic Medicine 21, no. 5 (2021): 451. https://doi.org/10.3892/etm.2021.9880