Quercetin protects against cerebral ischemia/reperfusion and oxygen glucose deprivation/reoxygenation neurotoxicity

Beyond nutrition effect, quercetin is applied as a complement or an alternative for promoting human health and treating diseases. However, its complicated neuroprotective mechanisms have not yet been fully elucidated. This study provides evidence of an alternative target for quercetin, and sheds light on the mechanisms of its neuroprotection against cerebral ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury in Sprague–Dawley rats. Oral pretreatment using quercetin has alleviated cerebral I/R-induced neurological deficits, brain infarction, blood–brain barrier disruption, oxidative stress, TNF-α and IL-1β mRNA expression, along with apoptotic caspase 3 activity. The neuroprotective, anti-oxidative, anti-inflammatory, and anti-apoptotic effects of quercetin were replicated in rat hippocampal slice cultures and neuron/glia cultures which suffered from oxygen–glucose deprivation and reoxygenation (OGDR). Biochemical studies revealed a reduction of extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) and Akt phosphorylation, along with an increase in protein tyrosine and serine/threonine phosphatase activity in cerebral I/R rat cortical tissues and OGDR hippocampal slice and neuron/glia cultures. Quercetin alleviated the changes in ERK/Akt phosphorylation and protein phosphatase activities. Inhibition of ERK or Akt alone was enough to cause apoptotic cell death and cytotoxicity in hippocampal slice cultures and neuron/glia cultures, while activators of ERK or Akt alleviated OGDR-induced cytotoxicity. Taken together, our results demonstrate that quercetin alleviated the increment of protein tyrosine and serine/threonine phosphatase activity, along with the reduction of ERK and Akt phosphorylation, which may play pivotal roles in the expansion of brain injury after cerebral I/R.