UPEI-300, a conjugate of lipoic acid and edaravone, mediates neuroprotection in ischemia/reperfusion

• Synthetic combination of edaravone and lipoic acid (UPEI-300) is neuroprotective.
• UPEI-300 dose-dependently provides neuroprotection against OGD in vitro.
• UPEI-300 provides neuroprotection against ischemia/reperfusion in vivo.
• UPEI-300 neuroprotection is observed when injected 60 min post-reperfusion.

Edaravone, an electron spin trapper with radical scavenging activity, has been shown to be effective in reducing infarct volume in humans following ischemic stroke. However, concerns of edaravone-induced renal toxicity have limited its clinical adoption. Previous work has demonstrated that edaravone produced significant neuroprotection when injected prior to a period of ischemia and/or reperfusion. The current investigation was designed to determine if a newly synthesized co-drug consisting of lipoic acid and edaravone, named UPEI-300, could produce neuroprotection in in vitro and/or an in vivo rodent model of stroke. UPEI-300 produced dose-dependent neuroprotection in vitro and was subsequently tested in vivo. Male rats were anaesthetized and the middle cerebral artery was occluded for 30 min followed by 5.5 h of reperfusion (ischemia/reperfusion; I/R). Pre-administration of UPEI-300 dose-dependently decreased infarct volume. Significant neuroprotection was also observed when UPEI-300 (1.0 mg/kg) was injected during the 30 min period of ischemia as well as up to 60 min following the start of reperfusion. These results indicate that a co-drug consisting of edaravone and lipoic acid is a potent neuroprotectant, and clinically, the use of such a novel co-drug following an ischemic stroke might maintain neuroprotection while potentially decreasing edaravone associated renal toxicity.