Isoforsythiaside confers neuroprotection against Alzheimer?s disease by attenuating ferroptosis and neuroinflammation in vivo and in vitro

Ferroptosis and neuroinflammation contribute to the development of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Isoforsythiaside (IFY) is a phenylethanoid glycoside isolated from the dried fruit of Forsythia suspensa (Thunb.) Vahl that has been confirmed to improve the memory and cognitive abilities of APP/PS1 mice in our previous study. The purpose of this study was to explore the anti-ferroptosis and anti-neuroinflammatory properties of IFY-mediated neuroprotection. In APP/PS1 mice, erastin-damaged HT22 cells, and LPS-exposed BV2 cells, the neuroprotective effects against ferroptosis and neuroinflammation were investigated using immunohistochemistry, label-free proteomics, western blot, ELISA, MTT, fluorescence, and TEM. IFY alleviated the expression levels of NO, IL-6, and IL-1 beta in LPS-exposed BV2 cells and improved the morphology of mitochondria in erastin-damaged HT22 cells. Additionally, IFY upregulated the expression levels of GPX4, FTH, FTL, p-GSK-3 beta, Nrf2, and NQO1, and downregulated the expression of TFR1, DMT1, p-Fyn, GFAP, p-IKK alpha+beta, p-IxB alpha, p-NF-xB, and pro-inflammatory factors in the brains of APP/PS1 mice and erastin-damaged HT22 cells. In conclusion, IFY inhibits ferroptosis and neuroinflammation in erastin-damaged HT22 cells and APP/PS1 mice, at least partially by regulating the activation of Nrf2 and NF-xB signaling. IFY may prevent ferroptosis and neuroinflammation in AD and provide a new treatment strategy for AD.(c) 2023 Beijing Academy of Food Sciences. Publishing services by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of KeAi Communications Co., Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

Automated summary

In this study, the researchers investigated the protective effects of isoforsythiaside (IFY) against ferroptosis and neuroinflammation. They found that IFY can alleviate the expression levels of pro-inflammatory factors and improve mitochondria morphology, and regulate the activation of Nrf2 and NF-xB signaling in erastin-damaged HT22 cells and APP/PS1 mice.