Neuroprotective Effects of Lycopene in Parkinson's Disease Mice: Potential Modulation of DAT/SLC6A3-Mediated Dopaminergic Pathway.

Overview

1. College of Basic Medical Sciences, Jiamusi University, Jiamusi 154007, China; (J.X.); (L.-X.L.); (C.-L.J.); (Z.-Y.X.)
2. College of Biology and Agriculture, Jiamusi University, Jiamusi 154007, China

Abstract

Background/Objectives: Lycopene (LYC), a natural lipid-soluble antioxidant extracted from dietary plants, possesses excellent neuroprotective and metabolic regulatory activities and has shown potential preventive and therapeutic effects on neurodegenerative diseases. However, its precise molecular mechanism against Parkinson’s disease (PD) remains incompletely clarified, which limits its further application. Methods: In this study, a PD mouse model was established, and a series of methods, including molecular docking, untargeted metabolomics, behavioral tests, and histopathological analysis, were used. Results: The results showed that LYC intervention not only improved the motor coordination ability of mice and reduced dopaminergic neuron damage but also reversed the metabolic disorders caused by the disease. Importantly, LYC can significantly increase the expression level of DAT/SLC6A3 in the midbrain region, and this is evident at both the gene and protein levels. Computational simulations and surface plasmon resonance results show that LYC can form stable complexes with the DAT/SLC6A3 protein and has a high affinity. Conclusions: This study explored the potential anti-PD effects of LYC from multiple perspectives and observed an association between elevated DAT/SLC6A3 levels and improved dopamine (DA) homeostasis after LYC intervention. These preliminary findings may offer new experimental clues for further mechanistic study and translational research on PD prevention and treatment.

Reproduced under the paper's license (CC BY), from the paper cited above.

Code

The paper links to its data, not to its authors' code: see the Data section.

Tracing map

A tracing map links a paper to the code its authors published: this paper has none, so it has no map.

Data

Datasets cited

• geo:GSE336581 — at NCBI GEO; found in “Data Availability Statement”

Data Availability Statement

The data supporting this article are included as part of the Supplementary Information. The raw transcriptome sequencing data have been deposited in the NCBI GEO database (accession number: GSE336581 (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/geo/query/acc.cgi?acc=GSE336581); URL: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/geo/query/acc.cgi?acc=GSE336581 (accessed on 26 May 2026); scheduled public release date: 24 June 2030). The full raw mass spectrometry data of untargeted metabolomics were submitted to the MetaboLights database (accession number: MTBLS14829; URL: https://www.ebi.ac.uk/metabolights/MTBLS14829 (accessed on 26 May 2026)). The complete raw mass spectrometry data for targeted neurotransmitter metabolomics were uploaded to MetaboLights (accession number: MTBLS14806; URL: https://www.ebi.ac.uk/metabolights/MTBLS14806 (accessed on 26 May 2026)).

Reproduced under the paper's license (CC BY), from the paper cited above.

Versions

The history of this record: each version stored by the harvester or made by a correction of its authors or of the maintainers of its code, and what changed in its facts. The texts of the paper (its abstract, its availability statements) are not part of it; versions that changed only those are not listed.

Version 1, 27 September 2026: the first record

Recorded: type, language, journal, volume, issue, pages, dates, 6 authors, 4 keywords, 12 MeSH terms, 1 funder, 59 references.

Cite

This paper

Xia, J., Fan, X.-R., Lu, L.-X., Jifu, C.-L., Xu, Z.-Y., & Wang, J.-T. (2026). Neuroprotective Effects of Lycopene in Parkinson's Disease Mice: Potential Modulation of DAT/SLC6A3-Mediated Dopaminergic Pathway. Nutrients, 18(14), 2234. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu18142234

Similar papers

The papers with a page that share the most with this one: the tools found in their code, their categories, datasets, cited references and authors, the rarest counting most.

[1] doi:10.1038/s41598-026-50523-0 [code]

Mechanistic multiscale modeling identifies putative natural tri-target candidates of MAO-B, LRRK2 and A₂A for Parkinson's disease.

Journal: Scientific reports

In common: Parkinson's, 3 references

[2] doi:10.1186/s12864-026-13028-8

Selective hippocampal transcriptional adaptation to long-term cannabidiol exposure in mice.

Journal: BMC genomics

In common: mouse, 2 references

[3] doi:10.1073/pnas.2619797123 [code]

Selective loss of primary cilia and neurotrophic signaling in G51D α-synuclein mice highlights a common pathway to Parkinson's disease.

Journal: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America

In common: Parkinson's, mouse, 1 reference

[4] doi:10.3389/fnins.2026.1862571

Integrated bulk, single-cell, and spatial transcriptomic analyses prioritize NOTCH1 as a candidate gene associated with neurovascular and immune-related alterations in Parkinson's disease.

Journal: Frontiers in neuroscience

In common: Parkinson's, mouse, 1 reference

[5] doi:10.1111/nan.70097

Transgenic A53T Mice Have Astrocytic α-Synuclein Aggregates in Dopamine and Striatal Regions.

Journal: Neuropathology and applied neurobiology

In common: Parkinson's, mouse, 1 reference

[6] doi:10.1016/j.nbd.2026.107379 [code]

DYRK1A and Parkinson's disease, facts and hypotheses.

Journal: Neurobiology of disease

In common: Parkinson's, 1 reference

[7] doi:10.1186/s12951-026-04551-7

The role of AI-assisted drug repurposing in neurological disorders: a systematic review of validation strategies, challenges and opportunities.

Journal: Journal of nanobiotechnology

In common: Parkinson's, 1 reference

[8] doi: [code]

Beyond bacteria: a multi-omics view of the gut–brain axis in Parkinson’s disease

Journal: Frontiers in cellular and infection microbiology

In common: Parkinson's, 1 reference

[9] doi:10.1038/s41746-026-02946-2 [code]

Fully-automated sleep staging for Parkinson's disease and isolated REM sleep behavior disorder.

Journal: NPJ digital medicine

In common: Parkinson's, 1 reference

[10] doi:10.1038/s41531-026-01345-4

Individual cases of Parkinson's disease can be robustly classified using magnetoencephalography.

Journal: NPJ Parkinson's disease

In common: Parkinson's, 1 reference

Contribute

The authors of this paper can claim it, correct its record and validate its tracing map, and the maintainers of its code (its owner, or a public member of its organization) correct what it says of their repository; anyone signed in can ask for its removal. Every request goes to OSCR's own machine, which answers it; your account page follows them.

Request its removal

To ask OSCR to remove this record, the copies of its authors' scripts or its tracing map, use the removal request page: signed in, you say who you are, what to remove and why, then review and confirm the request. Published rules decide every request (how).

Discussion: questions and error reports about this paper and its code, from signed-in readers and its authors. It opens with sign-in.

Reproductions: reports from readers who ran the authors' code: what they reproduced, with which environment, commit and data. It opens with sign-in.

Activity: what happens around this paper: new versions of its record, its map's validation, discussions and reproductions. It opens with sign-in.