3,4-dihydroxybenzalacetone and caffeic acid phenethyl ester induce preconditioning ER stress and autophagy in SH-SY5Y cells.

3,4-dihydroxybenzalacetone (DBL) and Caffeic acid phenethyl ester (CAPE) are both catechol-containing phenylpropanoid derivatives with diverse bioactivities. In the present study, we analyzed the ability of these compounds to activate the unfolded protein response (UPR) and the oxidative stress response. When human SH-SY5Y neuroblastoma cells were treated with DBL or CAPE, the expression of endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress-related genes such as HSPA5, HYOU1, DDIT3, and SEC61b increased to a larger extent in response to CAPE treatment, while that of antioxidant genes such as HMOX1, GCLM, and NQO1 increased to a larger extent in response to DBL treatment.

3,4-dihydroxybenzalacetone protects against Parkinson's disease-related neurotoxin 6-OHDA through Akt/Nrf2/glutathione pathway.

Unlabelled: Oxidative stress is implicated in the pathogenesis of various neurodegenerative diseases including Parkinson's disease (PD). 3,4-Dihydroxybenzalacetone (DBL) is a small catechol-containing compound isolated from Chaga (Inonotus obliquus [persoon] Pilat), and has been reported to have beneficial bioactivities, including antioxidative, anti-inflammatory, and anti-tumorigenic activities, with a relatively low toxicity to normal cells. We, therefore, investigated the neuroprotective activity of DBL against the PD-related neurotoxin 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA).