Oxytocin Exhibits Neuroprotective Effects on Hippocampal Cultures under Severe Oxygen-Glucose Deprivation Conditions

Journal article

Perinatal asphyxia (PA) and hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy can result in severe, long-lasting neurological deficits. In vitro models, such as oxygen-glucose deprivation (OGD), are used experimentally to investigate neuronal response to metabolic stress. However, multiple variables can affect the severity level of OGD/PA and may confound any measured treatment effect. Oxytocin (OXT) has emerged as a potential neuroprotective agent against the deleterious effects of PA. Previous studies have demonstrated OXT's potential to enhance neuronal survival in immature hippocampal cultures exposed to OGD, possibly by modulating gamma-aminobutyric acid-A receptor activity. Moreover, OXT's precise impact on developing hippocampal neurons under different severities of OGD/PA remains uncertain. In this study, we investigated the effects of OXT (0.1 µM and 1 µM) on 7-day-old primary rat hippocampal cultures subjected to 2 h OGD/sham normoxic conditions. Cell culture viability was determined using the resazurin assay. Our results indicate that the efficacy of 1 µM OXT treatment varied according to the severity of the OGD-induced lesion, exhibiting a protective effect (p = 0.022) only when cellular viability dropped below 49.41% in non-treated OGD cultures compared to normoxic ones. Furthermore, administration of 0.1 µM OXT did not yield significant effects, irrespective of lesion severity (p > 0.05). These findings suggest that 1 µM OXT treatment during OGD confers neuroprotection exclusively in severe lesions in hippocampal neurons after 7 days in vitro. Further research is warranted to elucidate the mechanisms involved in OXT-mediated neuroprotection.

Authors: Ionescu, MI; Grigoras, I; Ionescu, R; Chitimus, DM; Haret, RM

• Publication status: Published
• Peer review status: Peer reviewed
• Publisher: MDPI
• Journal: Current Issues in Molecular Biology
• Volume: 46
• Issue: 6
• Pages: 6223-6236
• Publication date: 2024-06-19
• DOI: 10.3390/cimb46060371
• EISSN: 1467-3045
• ISSN: 1467-3037
• Pmid: 38921042
• Language: English
• Keywords: Hippocampal Cell Cultures; GABA; Oxygen–glucose Deprivation; Hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy; Perinatal Asphyxia; Oxytocin