Protective effects of pinostrobin on β-amyloid-induced neurotoxicity in PC12 cells

Beta-Amyloid peptide (Aβ), a major protein component of brain senile plaques in Alzheimer's disease (AD), has been considered as a critical cause in the pathogenesis of AD. Pinostrobin, a potent flavonoid inducer, is the major and most active ingredient of Folium cajani. The present study aimed to investigate whether pinostrobin could provide protective effect against Aβ(25-35)-induced neurotoxicity in cultured rat pheochromocytoma (PC12) cells. The PC12 cells were pretreated with different concentrations of pinostrobin for 2 h, followed by the challenge with 20 μM Aβ(25-35) for 24 h. The results showed that pretreatment with pinostrobin significantly elevated cell viability, decreased the lactate dehydrogenase activity, the levels of intracellular reactive oxygen species and calcium, and mitochondrial membrane potential in Aβ(25-35)-treated PC12 cells. In addition, pinostrobin significantly suppressed the formation of DNA fragmentation and increased the ratio of Bcl-2/Bax. These results indicate that pinostrobin was able to exert a neuroprotective effect against Aβ(25-35)-induced neurotoxicity in PC12 cells, at least in part, via inhibiting oxidative damage and calcium overload, as well as suppressing the mitochondrial pathway of cellular apoptosis.