Anti-inflammatory effects of ellagic acid and vanillic acid against quinolinic acid-induced rat model of Huntington's disease by targeting IKK-NF-κB pathway

Huntington disease (HD), an autosomal dominant neurodegenerative disorder characterized by involuntary choreatic movements with cognitive and behavioral disturbances. HD striatum has increased conversion of kynurenine to quinolinic acid (QA) which activates NMDA receptors leading to activation of microglia and increased levels of nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) leading to elevated transcription of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and various cytokines causing neuronal death via neuroinflammation, oxidative stress, mitochondrial dysfunction and apoptosis. Therefore, inhibiting IKK-NF-κB pathway induced excitotoxicity, oxidative stress and neuroinflammation could be a potential intervention in slowing down the disease progression. QA injection intrastriatally (IS-QA) produce damage mimicking HD where neuroinflammation, oxidative stress and mitochondrial dysfunction play crucial role. Ellagic acid (EA) and vanillic acid (VA) are well reported to possess antioxidant and NF-κB inhibiting effect. Hence, in present study, rats administered IS-QA were treated with EA and VA for 21 days to explore their neuroprotective effects. Behavioral studies, biochemical estimations for oxidative stress and acetylcholinesterase assay were performed. Mitochondrial function was determined by estimating mitochondrial enzyme complexes; inflammatory markers like TNF-α, IL-6, NF-κB by ELISA and apoptosis by caspase-3 levels. Brain damage was determined by histopathology which revealed their neuroprotective effects. Various doses of EA and VA produced improved motor and cognitive functions, oxidative stress and neuroinflammation were also reduced and mitochondrial functioning was improved. In a nutshell, these results signify improved motor and cognitive functions by EA and VA in QA model of HD, along with declined oxidative stress, mitochondrial dysfunction and neuroinflammation.