COG1410, a Novel Apolipoprotein-E Mimetic, Improves Functional and Morphological Recovery in a Rat Model of Focal Brain Ischemia

Apolipoprotein E (apoE) is the primary apolipoprotein synthesized in the brain in response to injury with known neuroprotective effects exerted through antioxidant, anti inflammatory, antiexcitotoxic, and neurotrophic mechanisms. We have previously demonstrated that COG1410, an apoE mimetic peptide, exerts neuroprotective and anti inflammatory effects in a murine model of traumatic brain injury (TBI). As in TBI, ischemia-reperfusion injury is a component of acute stroke, which displays a pharmacogenetic association with the APOE4 gene. Using an intraluminal middle cerebral occlusion (MCAO) model in rats, we found that a single intravenous injection of COG1410 at 120 min post-MCAO significantly improved vestibulomotor function, decreased poststroke locomotor asymmetry, and decreased infarct volume of the ipsilateral hemisphere. These results support further exploration of a novel apoE-mimetic peptide, COG1410, as a therapeutic treatment for stroke. (C) 2008 Wiley-Liss, Inc.