Subpicomolar diphenyleneiodonium inhibits microglial NADPH oxidase with high specificity and shows great potential as a therapeutic agent for neurodegenerative diseases

Qingshan Wang, Chun Hsien Chu, Esteban Oyarzabal, Lulu Jiang, Shih Heng Chen, Belinda Wilson, Li Qian, Jau Shyong Hong

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

45 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Activation of microglial NADPH oxidase (NOX2) plays a critical role in mediating neuroinflammation, which is closely linked with the pathogenesis of a variety of neurodegenerative diseases, including Parkinson's disease (PD). The inhibition of NOX2-generated superoxide has become an effective strategy for developing disease-modifying therapies for PD. However, the lack of specific and potent NOX2 inhibitors has hampered the progress of this approach. Diphenyleneiodonium (DPI) is a widely used, long-acting NOX2 inhibitor. However, due to its non-specificity for NOX2 and high cytotoxicity at standard doses (μM), DPI has been precluded from human studies. In this study, using ultra-low doses of DPI, we aimed to: (1) investigate whether these problems could be circumvented and (2) determine whether ultra-low doses of DPI were able to preserve its utility as a potent NOX2 inhibitor. We found that DPI at subpicomolar concentrations (10-14 and 10-13 M) displays no toxicity in primary midbrain neuron-glia cultures. More importantly, we observed that subpicomolar DPI inhibited phorbol myristate acetate (PMA)-induced activation of NOX2. The same concentrations of DPI did not inhibit the activities of a series of flavoprotein-containing enzymes. Furthermore, potent neuroprotective efficacy was demonstrated in a post-treatment study. When subpicomolar DPI was added to neuron-glia cultures pretreated with lipopolysaccharide, 1-methyl-4-phenylpyridinium or rotenone, it potently protected the dopaminergic neurons. In summary, DPI's unique combination of high specificity toward NOX2, low cytotoxicity and potent neuroprotective efficacy in post-treatment regimens suggests that subpicomolar DPI may be an ideal candidate for further animal studies and potential clinical trials.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)2034-2043
Number of pages10
JournalGLIA
Volume62
Issue number12
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2014 Dec 1

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Neurology
  • Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Subpicomolar diphenyleneiodonium inhibits microglial NADPH oxidase with high specificity and shows great potential as a therapeutic agent for neurodegenerative diseases'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this