Cerebrolysin Alleviating Effect on Glutamate-Mediated Neuroinflammation Via Glutamate Transporters and Oxidative Stress

Glutamate, one of the most important excitatory neurotransmitters, acts as a signal transducer in peripheral tissues and endocrine cells. Excessive glutamate secretion has been shown to cause excitotoxicity and neurodegenerative disease. Cerebrolysin is a mixture of enzymatically treated peptides derived from pig brain including neurotrophic factors, like brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF), nerve growth factor (NGF), and ciliary neurotrophic factor (CNTF). The present study investigated the protective effects of cerebrolysin on glutamate transporters (EAAT 1, EAAT 2) and cytokines (IL-1β and IL-10) activity in glutamate-mediated neurotoxicity. Primary cortex neuron culture was exposed to glutamate and successively treated with various cerebrolysin concentrations for 24 and 48 h. Our data showed that cerebrolysin primarily protects neurons by decreasing glutamate concentration in the synaptic cleft. In addition, Cerebrolysin can decrease oxidative stress and neuron cell damage by increasing antioxidant activity and decreasing inflammation cytokine levels.