Neural Regeneration Research ›› 2021, Vol. 16 ›› Issue (12): 2353-2358.doi: 10.4103/1673-5374.300981

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Neuroglobin and neuroprotection: the role of natural and synthetic compounds in neuroglobin pharmacological induction

Lidia Ciccone1, Susanna Nencetti1, Simone Socci2, Elisabetta Orlandini2, 3, *   

  1. 1Department of Pharmacy, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy; 2Department of Earth Sciences, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy; 3Research Center “E. Piaggio,” University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy
  • Online:2021-12-15 Published:2021-05-13
  • Contact: Elisabetta Orlandini, PhD, elisabetta.orlandini@unipi.it.
  • Supported by:
    This work was supported by the Italian Ministero dell’Istruzione, dell’Universitá e della Ricerca PRIN 2017SNRXH3 (to EO and SN); PRA_2018_20 University of Pisa (to EO).

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Abstract: Neuroglobin (Ngb) is a 17 kDa monomeric hexa-coordinated heme protein belonging to the globin family. Ngb is mainly expressed in neurons of the central and peripheral nervous system, although moderate levels of Ngb have been detected in non-nervous tissues. In the past decade, Ngb has been studied for its neuroprotective role in a large number of neurological disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease, Huntington’s disease, brain ischemia and hypoxia. This review discusses and summarizes the natural compounds and the small synthetic molecules capable of modulating Ngb expression that exhibits a protective role against various neurodegenerative diseases.

Key words: Neuroglobin, neuroglobin pharmacological induction, neuroprotection, neurodegenerative diseases, natural compounds, synthetic small molecules, Alzheimer’s disease, Huntington’s disease