Synthesis and preliminary evaluation of neuroprotection of celastrol analogues in PC12 cells

A series of celastrol analogues were synthesized, and their neuroprotective effect against t-BHP-induced cytotoxicity was investigated in neuronal PC12 cells. Their effects on Hsp70 protein expression were quantified by Western blot analysis. The study found that compound CL12 is more effective than the parent celastrol against t-BHP-induced cytotoxicity. CL12 up-regulates Hsp70 protein expression dose-dependently. These results suggest that CL12 is a potential candidate for the intervention of neurodegenerative diseases.