Protective effects of wheat germ protein isolate hydrolysates (WGPIH) against hydrogen peroxide-induced oxidative stress in PC12 cells

- WGPIHs have protective effects on H2O2-induced injury in PC12 cells.
- WGPIH increased CAT and SOD activities in H2O2-induced PC12 cells.
- WGPIH reduced LDH and MDA levels in H2O2-induced PC12 cells.
- WGPIH increased mitochondrial membrane potential in H2O2-induced PC12 cells.
- WGPIH decreased intracellular Ca2 + in H2O2-induced PC12 cells.

The protective effects of the enzymatic hydrolysates of wheat germ protein isolate against the cytotoxicity and apoptosis produced by exposure to H2O2 in PC12 cells were investigated in this work. The cytotoxicity was assessed by cell viability, morphological characteristics, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) release, the activities of antioxidant enzymes, and malondialdehyde (MDA) production. The apoptosis was monitored by flow cytometry. The results indicated that pretreatment of PC12 cells with WGPIH, prior to H2O2 exposure, significantly increased the survival of cells and the activities of catalase (CAT) and superoxide dismutase (SOD), and reduced the levels of LDH and MDA. The presence of WGPIH attenuated H2O2-induced apoptosis in PC12 cells as evidenced by flow cytometric detection of sub-G1 DNA content and Annexin V assay. The reduction in mitochondrial membrane potential and accumulation of intracellular Ca2 + were also inhibited by WGPIH treatment. These findings suggest that WGPIH can protect PC12 cells against H2O2-induced oxidative stress as a neuroprotective agent.