Edaravone attenuates disease severity of experimental auto-immune encephalomyelitis and increases gene expression of Nrf2 and HO-1.

The aim of this study was to evaluate therapeutic potential of edaravone in the murine model of multiple sclerosis, experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) and to expand the knowledge of its mechanism of action. Edaravone (6 mg/kg/day) was administered intraperitoneally from the onset of clinical symptoms until the end of the experiment (28 days). Disease progression was assessed daily using severity scores. At the peak of the disease, histological analyses, markers of oxidative stress (OS) and parameters of mitochondrial function in the brains and spinal cords (SC) of mice were determined. Gene expression of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2), heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-gamma coactivator (PGC)-1alpha was determined at the end of the experiment. Edaravone treatment ameliorated EAE severity and attenuated inflammation in the SC of the EAE mice, as verified by histological analysis. Moreover, edaravone treatment decreased OS, increased the gene expression of the Nrf2 and HO-1, increased the activity of the mitochondrial complex II/III, reduced the activity of the mitochondrial complex IV and preserved ATP production in the SC of the EAE mice. In conclusion, findings in this study provide additional evidence of edaravone potential for the treatment of multiple sclerosis and expand our knowledge of the mechanism of action of edaravone in the EAE model.