Anti-inflammatory, Antioxidant, and Antiapoptotic Action of Metformin Attenuates Ethanol Neurotoxicity in the Animal Model of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders.

Fetal alcohol exposure has permanent effects on the brain structure, leading to functional deficits in several aspects of behavior, including learning and memory. Alcohol-induced neurocognitive impairment in offsprings is included with activation of oxidative- inflammatory cascade followed with wide apoptotic neurodegeneration in several brain areas, such as the hippocampus. Metformin is the first-line treatment for diabetic patients. It rapidly crosses the blood-brain barrier (BBB) and exerts antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and neuroprotective effects. In this study, we evaluated the protective effects of metformin on ethanol-related neuroinflammation, as well as neuron apoptosis in the hippocampus of adult male rat in animal model of fetal alcohol spectrum disorders. Treatment with ethanol in milk solution (5.25 and 27.8 g/kg, respectively) was conducted by intragastric intubation at 2-10 days after birth. To examine the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties of metformin, an ELISA assay was performed for determining the tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and antioxidant enzyme concentrations. Immunohistochemical staining was conducted for evaluating the glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) and cleaved caspase-3 expression. Based on the results, metformin caused a significant increase in the superoxide dismutase (SOD) (P < 0.05) and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) (P < 0.01) activities. On the other hand, it reduced the concentrations of TNF-α and malondialdehyde, compared to the ethanol group (P < 0.01). In the metformin group, there was a reduction in cell apoptosis in the hippocampus, as well as GFAP-positive cells (P < 0.01). Overall, apoptotic signaling, regulated by the oxidative inflammatory cascade, can be suppressed by metformin in adult brain rats following animal model of fetal alcohol spectrum disorders.