Novel synthetic lipopeptides derived from Mycoplasma hyorhinis upregulate calpastatin in SH-SY5Y neuroblastoma cells and induce a neuroprotective effect against amyloid-β-peptide toxicity.

Previously, we showed that contamination of SH-SY5Y neuroblastoma cells by Mycoplasma hyorhinis strains NDMh and MCLD leads to increased levels of calpastatin (the endogenous, specific inhibitor of the Ca2+-dependent protease calpain), resulting in inhibition of calpain activation. We have found that the increased calpastatin level is promoted by the lipoprotein fraction (MhLpp) of the mycoplasmal membrane. Here, we present MhLpp-based novel synthetic lipopeptides that induce upregulation of calpastatin in SH-SY5Y neuroblastoma cells, leading to protection of the treated cells against Ca2+/amyloid-β-peptide toxicity.

Zinc--a redox-inactive metal provides a novel approach for protection against metal-mediated free radical induced injury: study of paraquat toxicity in E. coli.

The essential mediatory role of copper and iron in a variety of free radical-induced injuries, including paraquat-induced biological damage has been recently demonstrated. It was postulated that these transition metals undergo cyclic redox reactions, and serve as centers for repeated production of hydroxyl radical, which are the ultimate deleterious agents. Additionally, we had presented evidence indicating efficient protection against paraquat toxicity by agents commonly employed (chelators, chemical scavengers and protecting enzymes).