RESEARCH ARTICLE Methylene Blue Protects Astrocytes against Glucose Oxygen Deprivation by Improving Cellular Respiration

Astrocytes outnumber neurons and serve many metabolic and trophic functions in the mam-malian brain. Preserving astrocytes is critical for normal brain function as well as for protect-ing the brain against various insults. Our previous studies have indicated that methylene blue (MB) functions as an alternative electron carrier and enhances brain metabolism. In ad-dition, MB has been shown to be protective against neurodegeneration and brain injury. In the current study, we investigated the protective role of MB in astrocytes. Cell viability as-says showed that MB treatment significantly protected primary astrocytes from oxygen-glucose deprivation (OGD) & reoxygenation induced cell death. We also studied the effect of MB on cellular oxygen and glucose metabolism in primary astrocytes following OGD-reoxygenation injury. MB treatment significantly increased cellular oxygen consumption, glucose uptake and ATP production in primary astrocytes. In conclusion our study demon-strated that MB protects astrocytes against OGD-reoxygenation injury by improving astro-cyte cellular respiration