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Stearic Acid

Posted: Mon Feb 19, 2007 9:00 pm
by dignan
A group of researchers in Shanghai seems to be doing a lot of research into the neuroprotective effects of stearic acid.



Neuroprotective effects of stearic acid against toxicity of oxygen/glucose deprivation or glutamate on rat cortical or hippocampal slices.

Acta Pharmacol Sin. 2006 Feb;27(2):145-50.
Wang ZJ, Li GM, Tang WL, Yin M.
School of Pharmacy, Shanghai Jiaotong University, Shanghai 200030, China. myin@sjtu.edu.cn

AIM: To observe the effects of stearic acid, a long-chain saturated fatty acid consisting of 18 carbon atoms, on brain (cortical or hippocampal) slices insulted by oxygen-glucose deprivation (OGD), glutamate or sodium azide (NaN3) in vitro.

METHODS: The activities of hippocampal slices were monitored by population spikes recorded in the CA1 region. In vitro injury models of brain slice were induced by 10 min of OGD, 1 mmol/L glutamate or 10 mmol/L NaN3. After 30 min of pre-incubation with stearic acid (3-30 micromol/L), brain slices (cortical or hippocampal) were subjected to OGD, glutamate or NaN3, and the tissue activities were evaluated by using the 2,3,5-triphenyltetrazolium chloride method. MK886 [5 mmol/L; a noncompetitive inhibitor of proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR-alpha)] or BADGE (bisphenol A diglycidyl ether; 100 micromol/L; an antagonist of PPAR-gamma) were tested for their effects on the neuroprotection afforded by stearic acid.

RESULTS: Viability of brain slices was not changed significantly after direct incubation with stearic acid. OGD, glutamate and NaN3 injury significantly decreased the viability of brain slices. Stearic acid (3-30 micromol/L) dose-dependently protected brain slices from OGD and glutamate injury but not from NaN3 injury, and its neuroprotective effect was completely abolished by BADGE.

CONCLUSION: Stearic acid can protect brain slices (cortical or hippocampal) against injury induced by OGD or glutamate. Its neuroprotective effect may be mainly mediated by the activation of PPAR-gamma.

Pubmed reference



Neuroprotective effect of the stearic acid against oxidative stress via phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase pathway.

Chem Biol Interact. 2006 Mar 10;160(1):80-7.
Wang ZJ, Li GM, Nie BM, Lu Y, Yin M.
School of Pharmacy, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, PR China.

Stearic acid is a long-chain saturated fatty acid consisting of 18 carbon atoms without double bonds. In the present study, we reported the neuroprotective effects and mechanism of stearic acid on cortical or hippocampal slices insulted by oxygen-glucose deprivation, NMDA or hydrogen peroxide (H(2)O(2)) in vitro.

Different types of models of brain slice injury in vitro were developed by 10 min of oxygen/glucose deprivation, 0.5 mM NMDA or 2 mM H(2)O(2), respectively. After 30 min of preincubation with stearic acid (3-30 microM), cortical or hippocampal slices were subjected to oxygen-glucose deprivation, NMDA or H(2)O(2). Then the tissue activities were evaluated by using the 2,3,5-triphenyltetrazolium chloride (TTC) method. Population spikes were recorded in randomly selected hippocampal slices.

Stearic acid (3-30 microM) dose-dependently protected brain slices from oxygen-glucose deprivation, NMDA and H(2)O(2) insults. Its neuroprotective effect against H(2)O(2) insults can be completely blocked by wortmannin (inhibitor of PI3K) and partially blocked by H7 (inhibitor of PKC) or genistein (inhibitor of TPK). Treatment of cortical or hippocampal slices with 30 microM stearic acid resulted in a significant increase in PI3K activity at 5, 10, 30 and 60 min.

These observations reveal that stearic acid can protect cortical or hippocampal slices against injury induced by oxygen-glucose deprivation, NMDA or H(2)O(2), and its neuroprotective effects are via phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase dependent mechanism.

Pubmed reference



Stearic acid protects primary cultured cortical neurons against oxidative stress.

Acta Pharmacol Sin. 2007 Mar;28(3):315-26.
Wang ZJ, Liang CL, Li GM, Yu CY, Yin M.
School of Pharmacy, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200030, China. myin@sjtu.edu.cn.

Aim: To observe the effects of stearic acid against oxidative stress in primary cultured cortical neurons.

Methods: Cortical neurons were exposed to glutamate, hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), or NaN3 insult in the presence or absence of stearic acid. Cell viability of cortical neurons was determined by MTT assay and LDH release. Endogenous antioxidant enzymes activity[superoxide dismutases (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px), and catalase (CAT)] and lipid peroxidation in cultured cortical neurons were evaluated using commercial kits. {3-[1(p-chlorobenzyl)- 5-(isopropyl)-3-t-butylthiondol-2-yl] -2,2-dimethylpropanoic acid, Na} [MK886; 5 mu mol/L; a noncompetitive inhibitor of proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR) alpha], bisphenol A diglycidyl ether (BADGE; 100 mu mol/L; an antagonist of PPAR gamma), and cycloheximide (CHX; 30 mu mol/L, an inhibitor of protein synthesis) were tested for their effects on the neuroprotection afforded by stearic acid. Western blotting was used to determine the PPAR gamma protein level in cortical neurons.

Results: Stearic acid dose-dependently protected cortical neurons against glutamate or H2O2 injury and increased glutamate uptake in cultured neurons. This protection was concomitant to the inhibition of lipid peroxidation and to the promotion activity of Cu/Zn SOD and CAT in cultured cortical neurons. Its neuroprotective effects were completely blocked by BADGE and CHX. After incubation with H2O2 for 24 h, the expression of the PPAR gamma protein decreased significantly (P<0.05), and the inhibitory effect of H2O2 on the expression of PPAR gamma can be attenuated by stearic acid.

Conclusion: Stearic acid can protect cortical neurons against oxidative stress by boosting the internal antioxidant enzymes. Its neuroprotective effect may be mainly mediated by the activation of PPAR gamma and new protein synthesis in cortical neurons.

Pubmed reference