Tat-antioxidant 1 protects against stress-induced hippocampal HT-22 cells death and attenuate ischaemic insult in animal model

Oxidative stress-induced reactive oxygen species (ROS) are responsible for various neuronal diseases. Antioxidant 1 (Atox1) regulates copper homoeostasis and promotes cellular antioxidant defence against toxins generated by ROS. The roles of Atox1 protein in ischaemia, however, remain unclear. In this study, we generated a protein transduction domain fused Tat-Atox1 and examined the roles of Tat-Atox1 in oxidative stress-induced hippocampal HT-22 cell death and an ischaemic injury animal model. Tat-Atox1 effectively transduced into HT-22 cells and it protected cells against the effects of hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂)-induced toxicity including increasing of ROS levels and DNA fragmentation. At the same time, Tat-Atox1 regulated cellular survival signalling such as p53, Bad/Bcl-2, Akt and mitogen-activate protein kinases (MAPKs). In the animal ischaemia model, transduced Tat-Atox1 protected against neuronal cell death in the hippocampal CA1 region. In addition, Tat-Atox1 significantly decreased the activation of astrocytes and microglia as well as lipid peroxidation in the CA1 region after ischaemic insult. Taken together, these results indicate that transduced Tat-Atox1 protects against oxidative stress-induced HT-22 cell death and against neuronal damage in animal ischaemia model. Therefore, we suggest that Tat-Atox1 has potential as a therapeutic agent for the treatment of oxidative stress-induced ischaemic damage.