The phenyl carbamates JBPOS0101 and JBPOS0607 attenuate rotenone-induced dopaminergic neuronal death in mice.

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that causes motor abnormalities such as tremors, rigidity, and posture imbalance. The loss of dopaminergic neurons and Lewy bodies containing the aggregation of α-synuclein are the main neuropathological features of PD. Rotenone, a widely used pesticide and mitochondrial complex I inhibitor, induces dopaminergic neuronal death and is used to model PD in rodents. We previously reported that JBPOS0101, a phenyl carbamate compound, attenuates amyloid β accumulation and memory impairment in the 5xFAD mouse model of Alzheimer's disease. In this study, we investigated the effect of JBPOS0101 and its derivative, JBPOS0607, in rotenone-administered mice as a PD model. Both drugs significantly attenuated the loss of dopaminergic neurons induced by rotenone in mice. Furthermore, the rotenone-induced accumulation of phosphorylated α-synuclein in dopaminergic neurons was also attenuated by the drugs. Additionally, both drugs alleviated rotenone-induced activation of astrocytes and microglia compared to the group treated with rotenone alone. These results indicate that the phenyl carbamates JBPOS0101 and JBPOS0607 attenuate rotenone-induced dopaminergic neurodegeneration in mice. Both compounds preserved nigral dopaminergic neurons and attenuated alpha-synuclein phosphorylation, glial activation, and pro-inflammatory cytokine levels in the striatum, and JBPOS0607 was also effective in restoring the anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-10, striatal dopamine levels, and motor performance, supporting the therapeutic potential of phenyl carbamates in Parkinson's disease.