New perspective for an old drug: Can naloxone be considered an antioxidant agent?

BACKGROUND

Experimental evidence indicates that Naloxone (NLX) holds antioxidant properties. The present study aims at verifying the hypothesis that NLX could prevent oxidative stress induced by hydrogen peroxide (HO) in PC12 cells.

METHODS

To investigate the antioxidant effect of NLX, initially, we performed electrochemical experiments by means of platinum-based sensors in a cell-free system. Subsequently, NLX was tested in PC12 cells on HO-induced overproduction of intracellular levels of reactive-oxygen-species (ROS), apoptosis, modification of cells' cycle distribution and damage of cells' plasma membrane.

RESULTS

This study reveals that NLX counteracts intracellular ROS production, reduces HO-induced apoptosis levels, and prevents the oxidative damage-dependent increases of the percentage of cells in G2/M phase. Likewise, NLX protects PC12 cells from HO- induced oxidative damage, by preventing the lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) release. Moreover, electrochemical experiments confirmed the antioxidant properties of NLX.

CONCLUSION

Overall, these findings provide a starting point for studying further the protective effects of NLX on oxidative stress.