Moslosooflavone protects against brain injury induced by hypobaric hypoxic via suppressing oxidative stress, neuroinflammation, energy metabolism disorder, and apoptosis

Abstract Objectives To investigate the protect effect of moslosooflavone against brain injury induced by hypobaric hypoxia (HH) in mice. Methods Protective effects of moslosooflavone in oxidative stress, neuroinflammation, energy metabolism disorder, and apoptosis were studied in HH-induced brain damage mice. The pathological morphology in the cortex of mice was determined by hematoxylin and eosin staining. The related protein expressions were detected by western blot. Key findings Moslosooflavone improved HH-induced brain histopathological changes, reduced the contents of ROS and MDA, and elevated the levels of antioxidant enzymes and GSH in HH-exposed brains of mice. Moslosooflavone also markedly enhanced the ATPase activities and PK, ATP contents, while reducing LDH activity and the LD, TNF-α, IL-1β, and IL-6 contents HH-exposed brains of mice. In addition, moslosooflavone notably decreased the expression of HIF-1α, VEGF, Bax, and cleaved caspase-3 dramatically increasing the expression of Bcl-2, Nrf2, and HO‑1 in HH-exposed brains of mice. Conclusions Our current studies indicate that moslosooflavone protects HH-induced brain injury possibly through alleviating oxidative stress and neuroinflammation, maintaining the balance of energy metabolism, and inhibiting cell apoptosis.