Multi-target action of β-alanine protects cerebellar tissue from ischemic damage |
| |
| Authors: | Olga Kopach Dmitri A. Rusakov Sergiy Sylantyev |
| |
| Affiliation: | 1.Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, WC1N 3BG UK ;2.Bogomoletz Institute of Physiology, Kyiv, 01024 Ukraine ;3.Rowett Institute, University of Aberdeen, Ashgrove Road West, Aberdeen, AB25 2ZD UK |
| |
| Abstract: | Brain ischemic stroke is among the leading causes of death and long-term disability. New treatments that alleviate brain cell damage until blood supply is restored are urgently required. The emerging focus of anti-stroke strategies has been on blood-brain-barrier permeable drugs that exhibit multiple sites of action. Here, we combine single-cell electrophysiology with live-cell imaging to find that β-Alanine (β-Ala) protects key physiological functions of brain cells that are exposed to acute stroke-mimicking conditions in ex vivo brain preparations. β-Ala exerts its neuroprotective action through several distinct pharmacological mechanisms, none of which alone could reproduce the neuroprotective effect. Since β-Ala crosses the blood-brain barrier and is part of a normal human diet, we suggest that it has a strong potential for acute stroke treatment and facilitation of recovery.Subject terms: Cell death in the nervous system, Experimental models of disease |
| |
| Keywords: | |
|
|
