Neuroprotective Effects of Erythropoietin

Brain related disorders are a set of medical ailments that cause motor incoordination, cognitive and memory problems due to neurodegeneration in the brain. Although current therapies alleviate symptoms, they fail to target the fundamental pathological processes driving the disorders. A hematopoietic growth factor, Erythropoietin, stimulates erythroid cell formation and is therapeutically applied for the treatment of anemia. Furthermore, Erythropoietin has shown improved neurological outcomes. Brain related disorders are a set of medical ailments that cause motor incoordination, cognitive and memory problems due to neurodegeneration in the brain. Although current therapies alleviate symptoms, they fail to target the fundamental pathological processes driving the disorders. A hematopoietic growth factor, Erythropoietin, stimulates erythroid cell formation and is therapeutically applied for the treatment of anemia. Furthermore, Erythropoietin has shown improved neurological outcomes in preclinical models and is being investigated as a potential therapeutic agent for neurodegenerative disorders. Erythropoietin is potential target for the regulation of numerous cellular signal pathways to enhance the neuronal survival, promote neuronal differentiation via binding of Erythropoietin-to-Erythropoietin receptor to stimulate the protein Janus-tyrosine kinase 2 followed by regulation of protein kinase B, signal transducer and stimulators of transcription 5, protein tyrosine phosphatases, mitogenactivated protein kinases, nuclear factor kB and Wnt1. Numerous research studies have evaluated the therapeutic potential of Erythropoietin against several neurological disorders including Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, neuroinflammation and epilepsy and highlight that Erythropoietin exhibits significant neuroprotective effects by counteracting apoptosis, neuroinflammatory process, reactive oxygen species overburden and neuronal death, consequently, prevent the progression of such diseases. However, two major challenges in developing erythropoietin as a neuroprotective agent include optimizing its therapeutic window and addressing safety concerns.