Original Article Chrysophanol affords neuroprotection against microglial activation and free radical-mediated oxidative damage in BV2 murine microglia

* Equal contributors. Received December 15, 2014; Accepted February 9, 2015; Epub March 15, 2015; Published March 30, 2015 Abstract: In this study, chrysophanol, isolated from a marine fungus, was examined for its protective effects against inflammatory responses and oxidative stress in BV2 microglia. Chrysophanol was studied to assess its capabilities of protecting against lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced inflammatory responses in BV2 cells. It was found that chryso - phanol reduced the level of nitric oxide (NO) and prostaglandin-E 2 (PGE 2 ) production by diminishing reducing the expression of inducible NO synthase (iNOS) and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2). Assessment of the inhibitory activities of chrysophanol on the generation of pro-inflammatory cytokines was also performed. Furthermore, Chrysophanol treatment significantly reduced intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS)-mediated cell damage and inhibited DNA oxidation in BV2 cells. Moreover, antioxidative mechanisms by of chrysophanol were evaluated investigated by measuring the expression levels of antioxidative enzymes such superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione (GSH). Therefore, results suggested that chrysophanol has potential antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities in microg - lia and further might be a useful therapeutic agent for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases.