Study on the oleocanthal neuroprotective action in mouse cell cultures

The numerous beneficial properties of the Mediterranean Diet (MD) - proclaimed by UNESCO as an intangible cultural heritage of humanity - on human health, also with regard to progressive neurodegenerative diseases, are well known. It has already been amply demonstrated in the literature that the oleocanthal (OC), a flavonoid compound of extra-virgin olive oil - which can be considered a MD common denominator - responsible for the pungent and acrid sensation in the pharynx, has anti-inflammatory, antitumor, antiatherogenic, antioxidants and antimicrobials properties. Several studies confirm the preventive-curative effects of OC on Alzheimer's disease (AD) through mechanisms that would alter the structure of peptides in Amyloid-? (A?), preventing them from assembling into senile plaques, and hindering the protein ? fibrillation, responsible for the formation of neuro-fibrillar aggregates, which both contribute to the neuronal degenerative processes. Among the various hypotheses on the OC action mechanism there is that concerning the A? clearance increase from the brain through its action on two main transport proteins: the LDL Lipoprotein Receptor Related Protein-1 (LRP-1), and the P-glycoprotein (P-gp). In this study we investigated the effect of OC treatment on P-gp and LRP-1 levels, in bEnd3 cell cultures - brain endothelial cells that constitutively express the LRP-1 and P-gp proteins and constitute a representative model of mouse Blood Brain Barrier (BBB). After the treatment, we proceeded with cell collection, protein extraction and Western Blot (WB) analysis, repeated three times. The bands were visualized using the Super Signal West Femto Maximum Sensitivity substrate detection kit. The quantitative analysis of the immunoreactive bands was carried out using the Gene Snap luminescent image analyzer and the intensity of the bands was measured by densitometric analysis. From the results obtained by the WB it can be seen that the treatment of bEnd3 cells with the OC results in a significant increase in the expression levels of LRP-1 and P-gp. The results of this study provide further evidence of the OC role as a neuro-protective agent against AD, also due to its ability to induce the LRP-1 and P-gp expression, proteins responsible for A? clearance through BBB.