Zonisamide Enhances Neurite Elongation of Primary Motor Neurons and Facilitates Peripheral Nerve Regeneration In Vitro and in a Mouse Model

No clinically applicable drug is currently available to enhance neurite elongation after nerve injury. To identify a clinically applicable drug, we screened pre-approved drugs for neurite elongation in the motor neuron-like NSC34 cells. We found that zonisamide, an anti-epileptic and anti-Parkinson’s disease drug, promoted neurite elongation in cultured primary motor neurons and NSC34 cells in a concentration-dependent manner. The neurite-scratch assay revealed that zonisamide enhanced neurite regeneration. Zonisamide was also protective against oxidative stress-induced cell death of primary motor neurons. Zonisamide induced mRNA expression of nerve growth factors (BDNF, NGF, and neurotrophin-4/5), and their receptors (tropomyosin receptor kinase A and B). In a mouse model of sciatic nerve autograft, intragastric administration of zonisamide for 1 week increased the size of axons distal to the transected site 3.9-fold. Zonisamide also improved the sciatic function index, a marker for motor function of hindlimbs after sciatic nerve autograft, from 6 weeks after surgery. At 8 weeks after surgery, zonisamide was protective against denervation-induced muscle degeneration in tibialis anterior, and increased gene expression of Chrne, Colq, and Rapsn, which are specifically expressed at the neuromuscular junction. We propose that zonisamide is a potential therapeutic agent for peripheral nerve injuries as well as for neuropathies due to other etiologies.