Frontiers in Pharmacology (Oct 2022)

A monoamine oxidase B inhibitor ethyl ferulate suppresses microglia-mediated neuroinflammation and alleviates ischemic brain injury

  • Xinxin Zou,
  • Shenghan Gao,
  • Jiangnan Li,
  • Chenggang Li,
  • Chuyu Wu,
  • Xiang Cao,
  • Shengnan Xia,
  • Pengfei Shao,
  • Xinyu Bao,
  • Haiyan Yang,
  • Pinyi Liu,
  • Yun Xu,
  • Yun Xu,
  • Yun Xu,
  • Yun Xu,
  • Yun Xu

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3389/fphar.2022.1004215
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 13

Abstract

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Microglia are the resident macrophages in the brain, which play a critical role in post-stroke neuroinflammation. Accordingly, targeting neuroinflammation could be a promising strategy to improve ischemic stroke outcomes. Ethyl ferulate (EF) has been confirmed to possess anti-inflammatory properties in several disease models, including acute lung injury, retinal damage and diabetes-associated renal injury. However, the effects of EF on microglial activation and the resolution of post-stroke neuroinflammation remains unknown. Here, we found that EF suppressed pro-inflammatory response triggered by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) stimulation in primary microglia and BV2 cell lines, as well as post-stroke neuroinflammation in an in vivo transient middle cerebral artery occlusion (tMCAO) stroke model in C57BL/6 mice, consequently ameliorating ischemic brain injury. Furthermore, EF could directly bind and inhibit the activity of monoamine oxidase B (MAO-B) to reduce pro-inflammatory response. Taken together, our study identified a MAO-B inhibitor, Ethyl ferulate, as an active compound with promising potentials for suppressing post-stroke neuroinflammation.

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