The novel squamosamide derivative FLZ protects against 6-hydroxydopamine-induced apoptosis through inhibition of related signal transduction in SH-SY5Y cells.

Compound FLZ is a synthetic novel derivative of squamosamide. Previous pharmacological study found that FLZ improved the abnormal behavior and the decrease of dopamine content in striatum in 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA) model mice. 6-OHDA can cause Parkinsonism in experimental animals. The purpose of this paper was to study the protective action of FLZ against 6-OHDA-induced apoptosis and alternations of related signal transduction. The results indicated that FLZ at concentrations of 0.1 microM and 1 microM prevented 6-OHDA-induced apoptosis of SH-SY5Y cells, and inhibited the increase of cytochrome c and Apoptosis-inducing factor (AIF) release and activation of Caspase 3 and NF-kappaB. The results suggested that FLZ has potential neuroprotective effect on 6-OHDA-induced apoptosis of SH-SY5Y cells through regulating related signal-transduction.