TY - JOUR
T1 - From Mitochondrial Function to Neuroprotection—an Emerging Role for Methylene Blue
AU - Tucker, Donovan
AU - Lu, Yujiao
AU - Zhang, Quanguang
N1 - Funding Information:
Acknowledgements This work was supported by Research Grant NS086929 from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institutes of Health, USA, and an American Heart Association Grant-in-Aid 15GRNT25240004.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2017, Springer Science+Business Media, LLC.
PY - 2018/6/1
Y1 - 2018/6/1
N2 - Methylene blue (MB) is a well-established drug with a long history of use, owing to its diverse range of use and its minimal side effect profile. MB has been used classically for the treatment of malaria, methemoglobinemia, and carbon monoxide poisoning, as well as a histological dye. Its role in the mitochondria, however, has elicited much of its renewed interest in recent years. MB can reroute electrons in the mitochondrial electron transfer chain directly from NADH to cytochrome c, increasing the activity of complex IV and effectively promoting mitochondrial activity while mitigating oxidative stress. In addition to its beneficial effect on mitochondrial protection, MB is also known to have robust effects in mitigating neuroinflammation. Mitochondrial dysfunction has been identified as a seemingly unifying pathological phenomenon across a wide range of neurodegenerative disorders, which thus positions methylene blue as a promising therapeutic. In both in vitro and in vivo studies, MB has shown impressive efficacy in mitigating neurodegeneration and the accompanying behavioral phenotypes in animal models for such conditions as stroke, global cerebral ischemia, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, and traumatic brain injury. This review summarizes recent work establishing MB as a promising candidate for neuroprotection, with particular emphasis on the contribution of mitochondrial function to neural health. Furthermore, this review will briefly examine the link between MB, neurogenesis, and improved cognition in respect to age-related cognitive decline.
AB - Methylene blue (MB) is a well-established drug with a long history of use, owing to its diverse range of use and its minimal side effect profile. MB has been used classically for the treatment of malaria, methemoglobinemia, and carbon monoxide poisoning, as well as a histological dye. Its role in the mitochondria, however, has elicited much of its renewed interest in recent years. MB can reroute electrons in the mitochondrial electron transfer chain directly from NADH to cytochrome c, increasing the activity of complex IV and effectively promoting mitochondrial activity while mitigating oxidative stress. In addition to its beneficial effect on mitochondrial protection, MB is also known to have robust effects in mitigating neuroinflammation. Mitochondrial dysfunction has been identified as a seemingly unifying pathological phenomenon across a wide range of neurodegenerative disorders, which thus positions methylene blue as a promising therapeutic. In both in vitro and in vivo studies, MB has shown impressive efficacy in mitigating neurodegeneration and the accompanying behavioral phenotypes in animal models for such conditions as stroke, global cerebral ischemia, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, and traumatic brain injury. This review summarizes recent work establishing MB as a promising candidate for neuroprotection, with particular emphasis on the contribution of mitochondrial function to neural health. Furthermore, this review will briefly examine the link between MB, neurogenesis, and improved cognition in respect to age-related cognitive decline.
KW - Cognitive enhancement
KW - Methylene blue
KW - Neurodegenerative disorders
KW - Neurogenesis
KW - Neuroprotection
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U2 - 10.1007/s12035-017-0712-2
DO - 10.1007/s12035-017-0712-2
M3 - Review article
C2 - 28840449
AN - SCOPUS:85028309602
SN - 0893-7648
VL - 55
SP - 5137
EP - 5153
JO - Molecular Neurobiology
JF - Molecular Neurobiology
IS - 6
ER -