Neuroprotective effect of Bax-inhibiting peptide on neonatal brain injury.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Mitochondria play a critical role in mediating cell death in both the adult and immature brain. The cyclophilin D mitochondrial membrane permeability transition pore is critical in adult ischemia, whereas in neonatal hypoxic-ischemic (HI) brain injury, mitochondrial permeabilization appears to be primarily Bax-dependent. The aim of this study was to evaluate the neuroprotective effect of a cell-penetrating Bax-inhibiting peptide (BIP) on neonatal mouse HI brain injury. METHODS BIP (5 microL, 5 mg/mL) or a BIP-negative control (5 microL, 5 mg/mL) was injected intracerebroventricularly immediately before HI in postnatal day 9 mice. Mice were euthanized at different time points after HI for evaluation of brain injury, Bax activation, release of proapoptotic proteins, and caspase activation. The trace fear conditioning and cylinder tests were performed for evaluation of the functional recovery after BIP treatment. RESULTS At 5 days after HI, there was a 41.2% reduction of brain injury in BIP-treated mice compared with BIP-negative control treated animals. Myelin basic protein and neurofilament quantification revealed that BIP reduced white matter injury. BIP treatment conferred improvement in both sensorimotor and memory functions at 7 weeks after HI. BIP protection was associated with a reduction of Bax activation, mitochondrial permeabilization, and downstream caspase activation. CONCLUSIONS Bax inhibition provides neuroprotection and functional improvement in a neonatal mouse model of HI.