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Calycosin Alleviates Paraquat-Induced Neurodegeneration by Improving Mitochondrial Functions and Regulating Autophagy in a Drosophila Model of Parkinson’s Disease

by Hitesh Singh Chaouhan ^1,†,Xin Li ^1,†,Kuo-Ting Sun ^2,3,†,I-Kuan Wang ^4,5,Tung-Min Yu ^6,7,Shao-Hua Yu ⁸,Kuen-Bao Chen ^9,*,Wei-Yong Lin ^10,11,12,* andChi-Yuan Li ^1,9,*1Graduate Institute of Biomedical Sciences, China Medical University, Taichung 40402, Taiwan²Department of Pediatric Dentistry, China Medical University Hospital, Taichung 40402, Taiwan³School of Dentistry, China Medical University, Taichung 40402, Taiwan⁴Division of Nephrology, China Medical University Hospital, Taichung 40402, Taiwan⁵Department of Internal Medicine, School of Medicine, China Medical University, Taichung 40402, Taiwan⁶Division of Nephrology, Department of Internal Medicine, Taichung Veterans General Hospital, Taichung 40402, Taiwan⁷School of Medicine, China Medical University, Taichung 40402, Taiwan⁸Department of Emergency Medicine, China Medical University Hospital, Taichung 40402, Taiwan⁹Department of Anesthesiology, China Medical University Hospital, Taichung 40402, Taiwan¹⁰Department of Medical Research, China Medical University Hospital, Taichung 40402, Taiwan add Show full affiliation list^*Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed.^†These authors contributed equally to this work.Academic Editor: Justyna GodosAntioxidants2022, 11(2), 222; https://doi.org/10.3390/antiox11020222Received: 5 December 2021 / Revised: 13 January 2022 / Accepted: 20 January 2022 / Published: 24 January 2022(This article belongs to the Special Issue Antioxidants in Human Health and Disease)
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Abstract

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is the second most common age-related neurodegenerative disorder with limited clinical treatments. The occurrence of PD includes both genetic and environmental toxins, such as the pesticides paraquat (PQ), as major contributors to PD pathology in both invertebrate and mammalian models. Calycosin, an isoflavone phytoestrogen, has multiple pharmacological properties, including neuroprotective activity. However, the paucity of information regarding the neuroprotective potential of calycosin on PQ-induced neurodegeneration led us to explore whether calycosin can mitigate PD-like phenotypes and the underlying molecular mechanisms. We used a PQ-induced PD model in Drosophila as a cost-effective in vivo screening platform to investigate the neuroprotective efficacy of natural compounds on PD. We reported that calycosin shows a protective role in preventing dopaminergic (DA) neuronal cell death in PQ-exposed Canton S flies. Calycosin-fed PQ-exposed flies exhibit significant resistance against PQ-induced mortality and locomotor deficits in terms of reduced oxidative stress, loss of DA neurons, the depletion of dopamine content, and phosphorylated JNK-caspase-3 levels. Additionally, mechanistic studies show that calycosin administration improves PQ-induced mitochondrial dysfunction and stimulates mitophagy and general autophagy with reduced pS6K and p4EBP1 levels, suggestive of a maintained energy balance between anabolic and catabolic processes, resulting in the inhibition of neuronal cell death. Collectively, this study substantiates the protective effect of calycosin against PQ-induced neurodegeneration by improving DA neurons’ survival and reducing apoptosis, likely via autophagy induction, and it is implicated as a novel therapeutic application against toxin-induced PD pathogenesis. CLICK TO REVIEW

Keywords: Parkinson’s disease; paraquat; calycosin; neurodegeneration; autophagy; Drosophila