Cabergoline prevents the oxidative stress-induced cell death of cultured cortical neurons via a D2 receptor-mediated mechanism. Cabergoline suppresses the activation of ERK signaling, which might have a role in the neuroprotection. Cabergoline significantly represses extracellular glutamate accumulation triggered by oxidative stress, and increases the expression of glutamate transporters including EAAC1, which is known to be involved in the clearance of extracellular glutamate.
In vivo
Cabergoline has a long elimination half-life (63 to 109 h). An in vivo study of neuronal damage induced by intracerebroventricular (icv) injection of 6-OHDA, a neurotoxic compound that selectively damages dopaminergic neurons in male ICR mice, demonstrates that intraperitoneal (ip) administration of cabergoline for 7 days prevented nigrostriatal region dopaminergic neurons from cell death. Cabergoline also protects SH-SY5Y neuroblastoma from cell death by oxygen-glucose deprivation even when cabergoline is administered after the induction of cell death. Cabergoline increases hippocampal brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF, an important regulator in the synaptic plasticity) and exerts an antidepressant effect in rats.