title: Acute neuroprotective synergy of erythropoietin and insulin-like growth factor I.
abstract: Erythropoietin (EPO) and insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I) are cytokines that inhibit neuronal apoptosis. However, their maximal antiapoptotic effect, even at high concentrations, is observed only when neurons are pretreated for several hours before insult. Here we show that simultaneous administration of EPO and IGF-I (EPO+IGF-I) eliminates the preincubation period required to prevent N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA)-induced apoptosis in cultured rat cerebrocortical neurons. The synergistic effect of EPO+IGF-I was mediated, at least in part, by activation of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3-K). EPO+IGF-I synergistically activated Akt (protein kinase B), a downstream target of PI3-K, and prevented dephosphorylation of Akt. Overexpression of a dominant interfering form of Akt (dnAkt) abrogated EPO+IGF-I-mediated neuroprotection. EPO+IGF-I treatment did not prevent initial NMDA-induced caspase-3 activation, which was observed within 6 h of insult; however, EPO+IGF-I-treated neurons survived at least 2 days after NMDA insult. These cytokines prevented neuronal apoptosis downstream of caspase activation by facilitating association between X-linked inhibitor of apoptosis protein, an inhibitor of caspase proteolytic activity, and activated caspase-3. These results imply that EPO+IGF-I exert cooperative actions that afford acute neuroprotection via activation of the PI3-K-Akt pathway.
authors.affiliation: Center for Neuroscience and Aging, The Burnham Institute, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA. muratd@burnham.org
authors.forename: Murat
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Digicaylioglu
authors.forename: Gwenn
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Garden
authors.forename: Sonia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Timberlake
authors.forename: Lauren
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Fletcher
authors.forename: Stuart A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Lipton
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000187:drug effects; D053148:Caspase 3; D020169:Caspases / Q000378:metabolism; D002470:Cell Survival / Q000187:drug effects; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000166:cytology; D004357:Drug Synergism; D004921:Erythropoietin / Q000494:pharmacology*; D006801:Humans; D007334:Insulin-Like Growth Factor I / Q000494:pharmacology*; D016202:N-Methylaspartate / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000633:toxicity; D009474:Neurons / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000201:enzymology / Q000378:metabolism; D018696:Neuroprotective Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D019869:Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinases / Q000378:metabolism; D010766:Phosphorylation / Q000187:drug effects; D017346:Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000378:metabolism; D011518:Proto-Oncogene Proteins / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000378:metabolism; D051057:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley
chemical_list: D053148:Caspase 3; D020169:Caspases; D004921:Erythropoietin; D007334:Insulin-Like Growth Factor I; D016202:N-Methylaspartate; D018696:Neuroprotective Agents; D019869:Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinases; D017346:Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases; D011518:Proto-Oncogene Proteins; D051057:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt; C494918:AKT1 protein, human; C494920:Akt1 protein, rat; C505407:CASP3 protein, human; C505410:Casp3 protein, rat