Kukoamine B, an amide alkaloid, protects against NMDA-induced neurotoxicity and potential mechanisms in vitro

•Molecular docking was used to discover KuB as a potential NMDAR antagonist.•KuB could decrease the NADPH oxidase-mediated ROS production.•KuB could suppress NR2B expression.•KuB could modulate the pathway of NR2B-ERK-CREB, PI3K-AKT and SAPKs.

A major cause of cerebral ischemia is overactivation of the N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors (NMDARs). Therefore, NMDAR antagonists are needed for the treatment of cerebral ischemia. In our research, KuB protected the SH-SY5Y cells against NMDA-induced injury, apoptosis, LDH release and MMP loss. In addition, KuB could decrease MDA levels while increasing SOD activity. Meanwhile, KuB decreased NADPH oxidase-mediated ROS production, inhibited Ca2+ influx, and increased the Bcl-2/Bax ratio. Furthermore, KuB not only down-regulated expression of the NR2B subunit of NMDAR but also actively modulated expression of the signaling molecules downstream of NR2B, including p-ERK, p-CREB, p-AKT and SAPKs. Finally, docking results showed that KuB had a high affinity for NR2B-containing NMDARs. Therefore, we conclude that KuB protected the SH-SY5Y cells from NMDA-induced injury likely by antagonizing NMDARs and reducing oxidative stress.