Endogenous galanin protects mouse hippocampal neurons against amyloid toxicity in vitro via activation of galanin receptor-2.

ABSTRACT: Expression of the neuropeptide galanin is known to be upregulated in the brain of patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD). We and others have shown that galanin plays a neuroprotective role in a number of excitotoxic injury paradigms, mediated by activation of the second galanin receptor subtype (GAL2). In the present study, we investigated whether galanin/GAL2 plays a similar protective role against amyloid-β(Aβ) toxicity. Here we report that galanin or the GAL2/3-specific peptide agonist Gal2-11, both equally protect primary dispersed mouse wildtype (WT) neonatal hippocampal neurons from 250 nM Aβ1-42 toxicity in a dose dependent manner. The amount of Aβ1-42 induced cell death was significantly greater in mice with loss-of-function mutations in galanin (Gal-KO) or GAL2 (GAL2-MUT) compared

SUBMITTER: Elliott-Hunt CR 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3145121 | biostudies-literature | 2011

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature