Antioxidant Activity of Calycosin against α-Synuclein Amyloid Fibrils-Induced Oxidative Stress in Neural-like Cells as a Model of Preventive Care Studies in Parkinson’s Disease

Abstract

Protein misfolding and aggregation result in induction of a number of neurodegenerative diseases. In the present study, the anti-fibrillation activity of calycosin and its influence on the amyloid formation of α-synuclein (α-syn) and associated cytotoxicity on neuron-like cells (PC-12) as a model of Parkinson's disease were explored. Therefore, in combination with ThT and ANS fluorescence assay, CD, Congo red absorbance, TEM and cytotoxicity assays (MTT, ROS, SOD activity, CAT activity, GSH content, and caspase-3 activity assays), we showed that calycosin remarkably inhibits α-syn fibril formation through a concentration-dependent manner. The experimental analysis indicated that calycosin exert its antioxidant effects against α-syn amyloid-triggered neurotoxicity by modifying the aggregation pathway toward formation of nontoxic spices via recovering the activity of SOD/CAT and GSH content and reducing the ROS content and caspase-3 activity. This work may provide useful information about the mechanism of α-syn amyloid inhibition by calycosin and pave the way for developing some small molecules-based therapeutic platforms against Parkinson's disease.