RT Journal Article SR Electronic T1 Carbimazole is an inhibitor of protein synthesis and protects from neuronal hypoxic damage in vitro JF Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics JO J Pharmacol Exp Ther FD American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics SP jpet.113.205989 DO 10.1124/jpet.113.205989 A1 Cornelius Lehane A1 Timo Guelzow A1 Simone Zenker A1 Anika Erxleben A1 Christian I. Schwer A1 Bernd Heimrich A1 Hartmut Buerkle A1 Matjaz Humar YR 2013 UL http://jpet.aspetjournals.org/content/early/2013/09/18/jpet.113.205989.abstract AB Oxygen deprivation during ischemic or hemorrhagic stroke results in ATP-depletion, loss of ion homeostasis, membrane depolarisation, and excitotoxicity. Pharmacologic restoration of cellular energy supply may offer a promising concept to reduce hypoxic cell injury. In this study we investigated whether carbimazole, a thionamide used to treat hyperthyroidism, reduces neuronal cell damage in oxygen-deprived human SK-N-SH cells or primary cortical neurons. Our results revealed that carbimazole induces an inhibitory phosphorylation of eukaryotic elongation factor eEF2 that was associated with a marked inhibition of global protein synthesis. Translational inhibition resulted in significant bioenergetic savings, preserving intracellular ATP-content in oxygen-deprived neuronal cells and diminishing hypoxic cellular damage. Phosphorylation of eEF2 was mediated by AMP-activated protein kinase and eEF2 kinase. Carbimazole also induced a moderate calcium influx and a transient cyclic adenosine monophosphate increase. To test whether translational inhibition generally diminishes hypoxic cell damage when ATP-availability is limiting, the translational repressors cycloheximide and anisomycin were used. Cycloheximide and anisomycin also preserved ATP-content in hypoxic SK-N-SH cells and significantly reduced hypoxic neuronal cell damage. Taken together, these data support a causal relation between the pharmacologic inhibition of global protein synthesis and efficient protection of neurons from ischemic damage by preservation of high-energy metabolites in oxygen-deprived cells. Furthermore, our results indicate that carbimazole or other translational inhibitors may be interesting candidates for the development of new organ-protective compounds. Their chemical structure may be used for computer-assisted drug design or screening of compounds to find new agents with the potential to diminish neuronal damage under ATP-limited conditions.