Neurotrophic peptides that are therapeutic for strokes in a rat model upregulate enzymes which reduce oxidative stress in various tissues

LeBlanc, Jason Joseph.

Student Work

Neurotrophic peptides that are therapeutic for strokes in a rat model upregulate enzymes which reduce oxidative stress in various tissues

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Neuroprotective peptides such as NMI-9236 are synthetic drugs designed for emergency stroke treatment. Prior research demonstrated that these peptides upregulate functional activator protein-1 (AP-1), which is a transcription factor thought to induce the gene expression of anti-oxidative enzymes. The purpose of this MQP was to investigate two aspects of these neurotrophic peptides. The first part was to determine if the upregulated AP-1 is capable of inducing trans-activation in a reporter plasmid. The second was to determine whether various peptides upregulate anti-oxidative enzymes as measured by Western blot analysis. The results indicate that AP-1 is indeed capable of trans-activation, and that anti-oxidative enzymes are upregulated in cell lines stimulated by various neurotrophic peptides.

This report represents the work of one or more WPI undergraduate students submitted to the faculty as evidence of completion of a degree requirement. WPI routinely publishes these reports on its website without editorial or peer review.

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