Abstract
Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a progressive neurodegenerative condition that affects the Central Nervous System (CNS). Insect venoms show high molecular variability and selectivity in the CNS of mammals and present potential for the development of new drugs for the treatment of PD. In this study, we isolated and identified a component of the venom of the social wasp Parachartergus fraternus and evaluated its neuroprotective activity in the murine model of PD. For this purpose, the venom was filtered and separated through HPLC; fractions were analyzed through mass spectrometry and the active fraction was identified as a novel peptide, called Fraternine. We performed two behavioral tests to evaluate motor discoordination, as well as an apomorphine-induced rotation test. We also conducted an immunohistochemical assay to assess protection in TH+ neurons in the Substantia Nigra (SN) region. Group treated with 10 μg/animal of Fraternine remained longer in the rotarod compared to the lesioned group. In the apomorphine test, Fraternine decreased the number of rotations between treatments. This dose also inhibited dopaminergic neuronal loss, as indicated by immunohistochemical analysis. This study identified a novel peptide able to prevent the death of dopaminergic neurons of the SN and recover motor deficit in a 6-OHDA-induced murine model of PD.
Highlights
Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative multisystem disorder
Previous studies have demonstrated that crude bee venom (BV) from Apis mellifera, associated with acupuncture, has appeared to be a promising compound that interferes with the progression of PD [17,18]
Thirty-four chromatographies were made, total time of the run was 100 min, and the fractions were eluted until 75 min; the more abundant peaks were divided into 7 fractions (Figure 1)
Summary
Its initial clinical manifestations are mainly associated with the motor system, and they consist of: resting tremor, rigidity, bradykinesia and postural instability [1] These manifestations result directly from a Toxins 2020, 12, 0550; doi:10.3390/toxins12090550 www.mdpi.com/journal/toxins. Significant health costs associated with the treatment of PD have resulted in the urgency of finding new therapies for the treatment or prevention of this disease [9]. In this context, compounds isolated from animal venoms have gained great interest in the screening of new therapeutic molecules for the treatment of neurological disorders [10]. Previous studies have demonstrated that crude bee venom (BV) from Apis mellifera, associated with acupuncture, has appeared to be a promising compound that interferes with the progression of PD [17,18]
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