Epicoccin A Ameliorates PD-Like Symptoms in Zebrafish: Enhancement of PINK1/Parkin-Dependent Mitophagy and Inhibition of Excessive Oxidative Stress

• DOI: 10.20944/preprints202503.1021.v1
• Publication Date: 2025-03-17T03:30:24Z
• Authors: Haicheng Ye; Dan Li; Lei Zhang; Yufei Wang; Cong Wang; Meng Jin; Houwen Lin; Peihai Li; Chen Sun; Ning Li
• Keywords: PINK1

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is the second most prevalent neurodegenerative disorder, yet effective agents for its prevention and therapy remain highly limited. Epicoccin A, a significant secondary metabolite from Exserohilum sp., demonstrates various biological activities, however, neuroprotective effects have not been elucidated. Here, we investigated therapeutic potential of epicoccin A PD by evaluating impact on neural phenotype, reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation, locomotor activity in PD-like zebrafish. Transcriptomic analysis molecular docking were conducted, with key gene expressions further verified using real-time qPCR. As result, notably mitigated dopaminergic neuron loss, vasculature deficiency, nervous system injury, ROS accumulation, impairments, abnormal hallmark genes associated oxidative stress. Underlying mechanism investigation indicated may alleviate symptoms activating PINK1/Parkin-dependent mitophagy, as evidenced reversal aberrant related to PINK1/Parkin pathway upstream mTOR/FoxO following co-treatments. This finding was confirmed robust interactions between these mitophagy regulators. Our results suggest that relieves inhibiting excessive stress, highlighting approach PD.