Evidence for Neuroprotective Effect of Sulbutiamine against Oxygen–Glucose Deprivation in Rat Hippocampal CA1 Pyramidal Neurons

• Published in: Biological & Pharmaceutical Bulletin Vol. 34; no. 11; pp. 1759 - 1764
• Main Authors: Kwag, Jeehyun, Majid, Aman Shah Abdul, Kang, Kui Dong
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English; Japanese
• Published: Japan The Pharmaceutical Society of Japan 2011; Pharmaceutical Society of Japan
• Subjects: Animals; Blood-brain barrier; Blood-Brain Barrier - metabolism; Brain; Brain Ischemia - drug therapy; Brain Ischemia - physiopathology; CA1 Region, Hippocampal - drug effects; CA1 Region, Hippocampal - physiology; Cell Survival - drug effects; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; Glucose; Glucose - metabolism; Hippocampus; Ischemia; Neurons; Neuroprotection; Neuroprotective Agents - pharmacology; Neuroprotective Agents - therapeutic use; Oxygen; Oxygen - metabolism; oxygen–glucose deprivation; Pyramidal cells; Pyramidal Cells - drug effects; Pyramidal Cells - physiology; Rats; Rats, Wistar; sulbutiamine; Synaptic transmission; Thiamine; Thiamine - analogs & derivatives; Thiamine - pharmacology; Thiamine - therapeutic use; Vitamin B Complex - pharmacology; Vitamin B Complex - therapeutic use
• ISSN: 0918-6158; 1347-5215; 1347-5215
• DOI: 10.1248/bpb.34.1759

Hippocampus is one of the earliest brain regions that gets affected by ischemia, however, no pharmacological therapy exists yet that can fully counteract the ischemic damage. Here we study the effect of sulbutiamine, a synthetic thiamine analogue that can cross the blood–brain barrier easily, on hippocampal neurons under an in vitro model of ischemia, oxygen–glucose deprivation (OGD). We find that exposure to OGD in the presence of sulbutiamine significantly increases neuronal viability and enhances electrophysiological properties such as excitatory synaptic transmissions and intrinsic neuronal membrane input resistance in a concentration-dependent manner. Overall, here we report, for the first time, the neuroprotective evidence of sulbutiamine on hippocampal CA1 pyramidal neurons under OGD, which may have beneficial implications as a possible therapeutic agent/substance against ischemic insult.