DJ-1-mediated protective effect of protocatechuic aldehyde against oxidative stress in SH-SY5Y cells

Dj-1 was identified as a causal gene for a familial form of early onset parkinson's disease (pd),park 7. dj-1 plays roles in transcriptional regulation and the anti-oxidative stress reaction. in this study,we found that protocatechuic aldehyde (pal),a traditional chinese medicine compound,bound to dj-1 in vitro and that pal protected sh-sy5y cells but not dj-1-knockdown sh-sy5y cells from oxidative stress-induced cell death,indicating that the protective effect of pal is mediated by dj-1. furthermore,pal inhibited production of reactive oxygen species and the inhibition was abated in dj-1-knockdown cells. pal increased and decreased phosphorylation of akt and pten,respectively,in sh-sy5y cells,suggesting that the akt pathway is one of the specific signaling pathways in pal-induced neuroprotection. moreover,pal prevented superfluous oxidation of cysteine 106 of dj-1,an essential amino acid for dj-1's function. the present study demonstrates that pal has potential neuroprotective effects through dj-1. © the japanese pharmacological society.