Baicalein-ameliorated cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury dependent on calpain 1/AIF pathway

Cerebral ischemia reperfusion (CIR) has become the leading cause of death and disability. Baicalein is a natural bioactive ingredient extracted from Scutellaria baicalensis Georgi and has neuroprotective activity. In our work, baicalein was found to reduce neurological deficits, brain water content, infarct area, and neuronal death of rats induced by middle cerebral artery occlusion/reperfusion. In vitro, oxygen-glucose deprivation/reperfusion induced inordinate ROS production and Apoptosis that could be reversed by baicalein. Our study revealed for the first time that baicalein has the potential to bind and inhibit the activity of calpain 1, thereby inhibiting AIF nuclear translocation. These findings demonstrated that baicalein protected against CIR injury via inhibiting AIF nuclear translocation by inhibiting calpain 1 activity.