N-cystaminylbiguanide MC001 prevents neuron cell death and alleviates motor deficits in the MPTP-model of Parkinson’s disease

•N-cystaminylbiguanide prevents cell death of TH-positive neurons and alleviates motor deficits.•N-cystaminylbiguanide promotes GSH synthesis by activating Gcl.•N-cystaminylbiguanide shows Anti-ROS and anti-inflammatory properties.•N-cystaminylbiguanide regulates the expression of BDNF in brain. Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a common neurodegenerative disease characterized by the progressive loss of dopaminergic (DA) neurons in the substantia nigra (SN), which is highly associated with oxidative stress. Antioxidants are therefore considered as potential therapies in PD treatment. In this study, we examined the neuroprotective effect of a cysteamine-based biguanide N-cystaminylbiguanide (MC001) in the MPTP mouse model of PD. The results showed that MC001 prevented neuron cell death and alleviated motor deficits in the MPTP mouse model of PD. Both in vitro and in vivo data indicated that MC001 may exert its neuroprotective effect by alleviating ROS production, suppressing neuroinflammation, and upregulating BDNF expression. Further mechanistic studies revealed that MC001 promoted GSH synthesis by inducing the expression of Glutamate-cysteine ligase catalytic subunit (Gclc) and enhancing the activity of Glutamate-cysteine ligase (Gcl). Our results suggest that MC001 warrants further investigation as a potential candidate for the treatment of PD.