Neural Regeneration Research ›› 2015, Vol. 10 ›› Issue (10): 1617-1621.doi: 10.4103/1673-5374.167760

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Geniposide prevents rotenone-induced apoptosis in primary cultured neurons

Lin Li1, Juan Zhao1, Ke Liu1, Guang-lai Li2, Yan-qing Han2, Yue-ze Liu2, *   

  1. 1 Key Laboratory of Cellular Physiology, Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, Shanxi Province, China
    2 Second Hospital, Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, Shanxi Province, China
  • Received:2015-06-28 Online:2015-10-28 Published:2015-10-28
  • Contact: Yue-ze Liu, Ph.D., yuezeliu@163.com.
  • Supported by:

    This research was supported by grants from the Shanxi Science and Technology Department in China, No. 2011081060 and Shanxi Scholarship Council of China, No. 2011-44.

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Abstract:

Geniposide, a monomer extracted from gardenia and widely used in Chinese medicine, is a novel agonist at the glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor. This receptor is involved in neuroprotection. In the present study, we sought to identify an anti-apoptotic mechanism for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases. Primary cultured neurons were treated with different concentrations of rotenone for 48 hours. Morphological observation, cell counting kit-8 assay, lactate dehydrogenase detection and western blot assay demonstrated that 0.5 nM rotenone increased lactate dehydrogenase release, decreased the expression of procaspase-3 and Bcl-2, and increased cleaved caspase-3 expression in normal neurons. All these effects were prevented by geniposide. Our results indicate that geniposide diminished rotenone-induced injury in primary neurons by suppressing apoptosis. This may be one of the molecular mechanisms underlying the efficacy of geniposide in the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases.

Key words: nerve regeneration, geniposide, rotenone, cell apoptosis, Alzheimer’s disease, caspase-3, Bcl-2, neural regeneration