ANTIOXIDANT EFFECT OF AN ALPHA-MSH ANALOGUE IN PRIMARY ASTROCYTES CULTURES

RAMÍREZ DELIA; CARNIGLIA LILA; SABA JULIETA; DURAND DANIELA; CARUSO CARLA; LASAGA MERCEDES

Bilbao

Congreso; XII European Meeting on Glial Cells in Health and Disease; 2015

Inflammatory processes in the central nervous system (CNS) contribute to the development of neurodegenerative disorders and oxidative stress appears to be connected with the loss of neurons during the progression of these diseases. Astrocytes are the cell type with the most antioxidant capabilities within the CNS and they supply neurons with glutathione (GSH) precursors. Melanocortins are neuropeptides with proved anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective properties. Previously, we have shown that alpha-melanocyte-stimulating hormone (alpha-MSH) exerts an anti-inflammatory action through MC4 receptors in astrocytes. Considering the importance of developing new therapeutic strategies focused on the regulation of antioxidant mechanisms, we decided to evaluate melanocortins? antioxidant effect in cultured rat primary astrocytes using NDP-MSH, a synthetic analogue of alpha-MSH. Primary cultured rat astrocytes were incubated for 24 h with NDP 0.1 μM and intra and extracellular GSH levels were evaluated using monochlorobimane. NDP-MSH increased extracellular GSH levels by 21.2% (p