A Novel Ligustrazine Derivative T-VA Prevents Neurotoxicity

Broad-spectrum drugs appear to be more promising for the treatment of acute ischemic stroke. In our previous work, a new ligustrazine derivative (3,5,6-trimethylpyrazin2-yl) methyl 3-methoxy-4-[(3,5,6-trimethylpyrazin-2-yl)methoxy]benzoate (T-VA) showed neuroprotective effect on injured PC12 cells (EC50 = 4.249 μM). In the current study, we show that this beneficial effect was due to the modulation of nuclear transcription factor-κB/p65 (NF-κB/p65) and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) expressions. We also show that T-VA exhibited neuroprotective effect in a rat model of ischemic stroke with concomitant improvement of motor functions. We propose that the protective effect observed in vivo is owing to increased vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) expression, decreased oxidative stress, and up-regulation of Ca2+–Mg2+ ATP enzyme activity. Altogether, our results warrant further studies on the utility of T-VA for the potential treatment of ischemic brain injuries, such as stroke. OPEN ACCESS Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2015, 16 21760