Indirubin derivatives protect against endoplasmic reticulum stress-induced cytotoxicity and down-regulate CHOP levels in HT22 cells.

ABSTRACT

Indirubin and its derivatives have been reported to exhibit anti-cancer and anti-inflammatory activities. Recently, some of its derived analogs have been shown to have neuroprotective potential. Endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress has been demonstrated to contribute to the pathogenesis of various neurodegenerative diseases, whereas the effects of indirubin derivatives on ER stress-induced cell death have not been addressed. In the present study, a series of 44 derivatives of indirubin was prepared to search for a novel class of neuroprotective agents against ER stress-induced neuronal death. The MTT reduction assay indicated that tunicamycin (TM), an inducer of ER stress, significantly decreased the viability of hippocampal neuronal HT22 cells. Among the compounds tested, eight showed significant inhibitory activity against TM-induced cell death. Western blot analysis showed that application of these analogs to the cells simultaneously with TM reduced the TM-induced expression of CHOP, an established mediator of ER stress. Our results suggest that the preventive effect of these indirubin derivatives against ER stress-induced neuronal death may be due, at least in part, to attenuation of the CHOP-dependent signaling system.