Icariin targets Rho family GEF FARP2 to modulate GTPase signaling for neuroprotection
Abstract
BackgroundOxidative stress is a primary driver of neuronal injury in neurodegenerative conditions including ischemia stroke (IS). Icariin (ICA), a natural flavonoid, exhibits neuroprotective activity. However, its direct molecular target remains elusive. Here, we identified the direct protein target of ICA and elucidated the downstream pathways mediating its protection against hydrogen peroxide (H2O2)-induced neuronal injury.MethodsNeuronal B35 cells were treated with H2O2 to induce oxidative stress. Cell viability was evaluated using CCK-8 assays and Calcein-AM/PI double staining. The direct binding target of ICA was screened by drug affinity responsive target stability-mass spectrometry (DARTS-MS) proteomics, followed by validation through molecular docking, molecular dynamics (MD) simulations as well as cellular thermal shift assay coupled with Western blot (CETSA-WB). RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) was performed to identify involved the signaling pathways. Network pharmacology and machine learning approaches including LASSO, random forest, and support vector machine, were applied to identify hub genes associated with IS. Finally, WB, phalloidin staining and siRNA-mediated FARP2 knockdown rescue experiments were performed to confirm the effects and mechanism of icariin in IS.ResultsICA dose-dependently restored B35 cell viability following H2O2 exposure. FARP2 was identified as a direct binding target of ICA. Molecular docking and MD stimulations validated stable ICA-FARP2 binding (ΔG_bind = −21.38 ± 2.19 kcal/mol) driven by van der Waals and electrostatic interactions with Thr914 and Gln907. Transcriptomic profiling indicated that H2O2 exposure upregulated RhoGTPase signaling, extracellular matrix organization, and cilium assembly pathways. Integrated analyses further identified caspase-3 as a core regulatory gene and implicated Rap1 and PI3K-Akt signaling in IS. Finally, the functional validation confirms that FARP2 siRNA blocks the protective effect of icariin against H2O2-induced B35 cell injury. Conclusion: ICA exerts neuroprotective effects against H2O2-induced neuronal injury by targeting FARP2 and modulating RhoGTPase and PI3K-Akt signaling, suggesting its potential in regulating cytoskeletal dynamics and cellular stress responses.
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BibTeX
@article{shi2026icariin,
title = {{Icariin targets Rho family GEF FARP2 to modulate GTPase signaling for neuroprotection}},
author = {Chuanjing Shi and Rui Wang and Xuanwei Cai and Xi Wang and Chuanyu Cang and Qi Chen and Mohan Li and Xinyan Huang and Siqi Liu and Fengbo Zhao and Lei Zhang and Aifen Liu},
journal = {Frontiers in Pharmacology},
year = {2026},
month = nov,
doi = {10.3389/fphar.2026.1862070},
url = {https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fphar.2026.1862070},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Icariin targets Rho family GEF FARP2 to modulate GTPase signaling for neuroprotection
AU - Chuanjing Shi
AU - Rui Wang
AU - Xuanwei Cai
AU - Xi Wang
AU - Chuanyu Cang
AU - Qi Chen
AU - Mohan Li
AU - Xinyan Huang
AU - Siqi Liu
AU - Fengbo Zhao
AU - Lei Zhang
AU - Aifen Liu
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/11/09
JO - Frontiers in Pharmacology
DO - 10.3389/fphar.2026.1862070
UR - https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fphar.2026.1862070
AB - BackgroundOxidative stress is a primary driver of neuronal injury in neurodegenerative conditions including ischemia stroke (IS). Icariin (ICA), a natural flavonoid, exhibits neuroprotective activity. However, its direct molecular target remains elusive. Here, we identified the direct protein target of ICA and elucidated the downstream pathways mediating its protection against hydrogen peroxide (H2O2)-induced neuronal injury.MethodsNeuronal B35 cells were treated with H2O2 to induce oxidative stress. Cell viability was evaluated using CCK-8 assays and Calcein-AM/PI double staining. The direct binding target of ICA was screened by drug affinity responsive target stability-mass spectrometry (DARTS-MS) proteomics, followed by validation through molecular docking, molecular dynamics (MD) simulations as well as cellular thermal shift assay coupled with Western blot (CETSA-WB). RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) was performed to identify involved the signaling pathways. Network pharmacology and machine learning approaches including LASSO, random forest, and support vector machine, were applied to identify hub genes associated with IS. Finally, WB, phalloidin staining and siRNA-mediated FARP2 knockdown rescue experiments were performed to confirm the effects and mechanism of icariin in IS.ResultsICA dose-dependently restored B35 cell viability following H2O2 exposure. FARP2 was identified as a direct binding target of ICA. Molecular docking and MD stimulations validated stable ICA-FARP2 binding (ΔG_bind = −21.38 ± 2.19 kcal/mol) driven by van der Waals and electrostatic interactions with Thr914 and Gln907. Transcriptomic profiling indicated that H2O2 exposure upregulated RhoGTPase signaling, extracellular matrix organization, and cilium assembly pathways. Integrated analyses further identified caspase-3 as a core regulatory gene and implicated Rap1 and PI3K-Akt signaling in IS. Finally, the functional validation confirms that FARP2 siRNA blocks the protective effect of icariin against H2O2-induced B35 cell injury. Conclusion: ICA exerts neuroprotective effects against H2O2-induced neuronal injury by targeting FARP2 and modulating RhoGTPase and PI3K-Akt signaling, suggesting its potential in regulating cytoskeletal dynamics and cellular stress responses.
SN - 1663-9812
ER -