Title : An overview of the protection afforded by kaempferol administration against rat’s brain degeneration induced by ischemic stroke and 3-nitropropionic acid
Abstract:
Kaempferol, a flavonoid present in many food products, has chemical and cellular antioxidant properties that are beneficial for protection against the oxidative stress caused by reactive oxygen and nitrogen species. Kaempferol administration to model experimental animals provides extensive protection against brain damage of the striatum and proximal cortical areas induced by transient brain cerebral ischemic stroke and by the neurotoxin 3-nitropropionic acid, which elicits neurological motor disorders closely resemble those found in Huntington’s disease. This presentation is an overview of the work performed in our laboratories during the past years on the molecular and cellular mechanisms of protection by kaempferol administration against brain damage induced by these insults. Kaempferol administration at doses that prevent neurological dysfunctions inhibit the critical molecular events that underlie the initial and delayed brain damage induced by ischemic stroke and by 3-nitropropionic acid. It is highlighted that the protection afforded by kaempferol against the initial mitochondrial dysfunction can largely account for its protection against the reported delayed spreading of brain damage, which can develop from many hours to several days. More recently, we have shown that intraperitoneal (i.p.) administration of kaempferol also protects against the increase of pro-inflammatory cytokines that potentiate the activation of complement C3 protein (a biomarker of A1-type reactive astrocytes generation) and overproduction of neurotoxic amyloid β (Aβ) peptides in rats treated with acute i.p. administration of NPA. Furthermore, kaempferol i.p. administration also protects against the NPA-induced increase of phospho-tau 217 and phospho-tau 181. Also, our results unveiled that i.p. kaempferol co-administration prevent microhaemorrhages induced by acute NPA administration. This allows us to conclude that kaempferol administration can be beneficial not only in preventive treatments, but also in post-insult therapeutic treatments, and our results lend strong support to its use in the therapeutic treatment of β-amyloidopathies and tauopathies.
