2026-10-13T20:04:00Z https://api.figshare.com/v2/oai

oai:figshare.com:article/33981330 2026-09-24T10:40:05Z category_4 category_7 category_13 category_14 category_15 category_16 category_19 category_21 category_734 category_122 category_133 portal_87 item_type_3 month_year_09_2026

Puerarin attenuates binge ethanol-induced cortical neurotoxicity in association with AKT/mTOR signaling and autophagy-related responses Fu Liu (1601110) Shuying Huang (5676650) Hongwen Xiao (22261312) Yuhong Zhou (2414881) Long Lin (1358919) Zaiqiang Liu (25103409) Jumei Lan (25103412) Xiaohong Chen (220164) Hua Tian (220297) Biochemistry Medicine Genetics Molecular Biology Neuroscience Physiology Pharmacology Biotechnology Biological Sciences not elsewhere classified Mental Health Plant Biology Puerarin binge ethanol exposure cortical neurotoxicity AKT/mTOR signaling autophagy-related responses <p>Puerarin (Pue), a major isoflavone derived from <i>Pueraria lobata</i>, has demonstrated neuroprotective potential in multiple neurological disorders; however, its effects on ethanol (EtOH)-induced cortical injury and the associated molecular responses remain incompletely understood. In the present study, network pharmacology was combined with <i>in vivo</i> and <i>in vitro</i> experiments to investigate molecular responses associated with the effects of Pue on EtOH-induced neurotoxicity. Public databases were used to predict targets of Pue and alcohol-related brain injury, followed by protein–protein interaction analysis, Gene Ontology annotation, and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathway enrichment. A total of 101 overlapping targets were identified, among which TNF, AKT1, EGFR, TP53, and PPARG emerged as major hub targets, and PI3K-Akt signaling pathway was among the pathways that remained significantly enriched after FDR correction. In a 4-day binge EtOH rat model, Pue attenuated EtOH-associated increases in oxidative stress, neuronal degeneration, and apoptotic markers in cortical tissue. This was accompanied by attenuation of the EtOH-associated reductions in the p-AKT/AKT and p-mTOR/mTOR ratios, as well as an attenuation of EtOH-associated changes in LC3, ATG5, and Beclin-1 expression. In primary cortical neurons, Pue partially attenuated the EtOH-associated loss of neuronal viability and preserved neurite morphology. Bafilomycin A1 (BafA1)-based analysis of LC3-II and p62/SQSTM1 showed an overall BafA1-sensitive increase in LC3-II without a significant treatment-dependent difference in the BafA1 response. Collectively, these findings suggest that Pue attenuates binge EtOH-induced cortical neurotoxicity in association with changes in AKT/mTOR phosphorylation and autophagy-related responses.</p> 2026-09-24T10:40:05Z Dataset Dataset 10.6084/m9.figshare.33981330.v1 https://figshare.com/articles/dataset/Puerarin_attenuates_binge_ethanol-induced_cortical_neurotoxicity_in_association_with_AKT_mTOR_signaling_and_autophagy-related_responses/33981330 CC BY 4.0