BSA-stabilized selenium nanoparticles ameliorate intracerebral hemorrhage's-like pathology by inhibiting ferroptosis-mediated neurotoxicology via Nrf2/GPX4 axis activation

Intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) is a prevalent hemorrhagic cerebrovascular emergency. Alleviating neurological damage in the early stages of ICH is critical for enhancing patient prognosis and survival rate. A novel form of cell death called ferroptosis is intimately linked to hemorrhage-induced brain tissue injury. Although studies have demonstrated the significant preventive impact of bovine serum albumin-stabilized selenium nanoparticles (BSA-SeNPs) against disorders connected to the neurological system, the neuroprotective effect on the hemorrhage stroke and the mechanism remain unknown. Therefore, based on the favorable biocompatibility of BSA-SeNPs, h-ICH (hippocampus-intracerebral hemorrhage) model was constructed to perform BSA-SeNPs therapy. As expected, these BSA-SeNPs could effectively improve the cognitive deficits and ameliorate the damage of hippocampal neuron. Furthermore, BSA-SeNPs reverse the morphology of mitochondria and enhanced the mitochondrial function, evidenced by mitochondrial respiration function (OCR) and mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP). Mechanistically, BSA-SeNPs could efficiently activate the Nrf2 to enhance the expression of antioxidant GPX4 at mRNA and protein levels, and further inhibit lipid peroxidation production in erastin-induced ferroptotic damages. Taken together, this study not only sheds light on the clinical application of BSA-SeNPs, but also provides its newly theoretical support for the strategy of the intervention and treatment of neurological impairment following ICH.