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    25 December 2012, Volume 7 Issue 36 Previous Issue    Next Issue
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    Panax notoginseng saponin attenuates hypoxia/ reoxygenation-induced oxidative stress in cortical neurons
    Chen Yan, Jinqiang Zhu, Xiaoxu Jia, Chao Wang, Shaoxia Wang, Liyuan Kang
    2012, 7 (36):  2853-2859. 
    Abstract ( 222 )   PDF (134KB) ( 1410 )   Save

    The present study monitored the effect of 2, 10, and 50 mg/L of Panax notoginseng saponin exposure following hypoxia-reoxygenation injury in fetal rat cortical neurons. Results showed that varying doses of Panax notoginseng saponin significantly enhanced the cell viability of neurons,reduced malondialdehyde content, increased superoxide dismutase activity, inhibited mRNA and protein expression of inducible and neuronal nitric oxide synthase, and decreased the release of nitric oxide in hypoxia/reoxygenation injured cells. In particular, 50 mg/L of Panax notoginseng saponin was the most effective dose. These findings suggest that Panax notoginseng saponin can attenuate neuronal oxidative stress injury caused by hypoxia/reoxygenation in a dose-dependent manner.

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    Cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying the action of ginsenoside Rg1 against Alzheimer’s disease
    Xi Li, Ming Li, Yuan Li, Qiankun Quan, Juan Wang
    2012, 7 (36):  2860-2866. 
    Abstract ( 178 )   PDF (173KB) ( 1032 )   Save

    Ginsenoside Rg1 inhibits oxidation, aging and cell apoptosis, and improves cognitive function. In this study, we pretreated rat brain tissue sections with ginsenoside Rg1, and established brain slice models of Alzheimer’s disease induced by okadaic acid. The results revealed that ginsenoside Rg1 pretreatment suppressed the increase in phosphorylated Tau protein expression induced by incubation with okadaic acid, and reduced brain-derived neurotrophic factor expression. These results suggest that ginsenoside Rg1 upregulates brain-derived neurotrophic factor expression and inhibits Tau protein phosphorylation in brain slices from a rat model of Alzheimer’s disease.

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    Protective effects of Lingguizhugan decoction on amyloid-beta peptide (25–35)-induced cell injury Anti-inflammatory effects
    Feifei Xi, Feng Sang, Chunxiang Zhou, Yun Ling
    2012, 7 (36):  2867-2873. 
    Abstract ( 244 )   PDF (210KB) ( 1418 )   Save

    In the present study, a human neuroblastoma cell line (SH-SY5Y) and BV-2 microglia were treated with amyloid-βpeptide (25–35), as a model of Alzheimer’s disease, to evaluate the protective effects of 10-3–10-8 g/mL Lingguizhugan decoction and to examine the underlying anti-inflammatory mechanism. Lingguizhugan decoction significantly enhanced the viability of SH-SY5Y cells with amyloid-β peptide-induced injury, and lowered levels of interleukin-1β,interleukin-6, tumor necrosis factor-α and nitric oxide in the culture supernatant of activated BV-2 microglia.The effects of 10-3 g/mL Lingguizhugan decoction were more significant. These results suggest that Lingguizhugan decoction can protect SH-SY5Y cells against amyloid-β peptide (25–35)-induced injury in a dose-dependent manner by inhibiting overexpression of inflammatory factors by activated microglia.

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    Effects of genistein on neuronal apoptosis, and expression of Bcl-2 and Bax proteins in the hippocampus of ovariectomized rats
    Yun Peng, Bo Jiang, Huiling Wu, Ruchun Dai, Liming Tan
    2012, 7 (36):  2874-2881. 
    Abstract ( 200 )   PDF (262KB) ( 922 )   Save

    Genistein is one of several isoflavones that has a structure similar to 17β-estradiol, has a strong antioxidant effect, and a high affinity to estrogen receptors. At 15 weeks after ovariectomy, the expression of Bcl-2 in the hippocampus of rats decreased and Bax expression increased, with an obvious upregulation of apoptosis. However, intraperitoneal injection of genistein or 17β-estradiol for 15 consecutive weeks from the second day after operation upregulated Bcl-2 protein expression, downregulated Bax protein expression, and attenuated hippocampal neuron apoptosis. Our experimental findings indicate that long-term intervention with genistein can lead to a decrease in apoptosis in hippocampal neurons following ovariectomy, upregulate the expression of Bcl-2, and downregulate the expression of Bax. In addition, genistein and 17β-estradiol play equal anti-apoptotic and neuroprotective roles.

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    Influence of Tanshinone IIa on heat shock protein 70, Bcl-2 and Bax expression in rats with spinal ischemia/reperfusion injury
    Li Zhang, Weidong Gan, Guoyao An
    2012, 7 (36):  2882-2888. 
    Abstract ( 207 )   PDF (370KB) ( 947 )   Save

    Tanshinone IIa is an effective monomer component of Danshen, which is a traditional Chinese medicine for activating blood circulation to dissipate blood stasis. Tanshinone IIa can effectively improve brain tissue ischemia/hypoxia injury. The present study established a rat model of spinal cord ischemia/reperfusion injury and intraperitoneally injected Tanshinone IIa, 0.5 hour prior to model establishment. Results showed that Tanshinone IIa promoted heat shock protein 70 and Bcl-2 protein expression, but inhibited Bax protein expression in the injured spinal cord after ischemia/reperfusion injury. Furthermore, Nissl staining indicated a reduction in nerve cell apoptosis and fewer pathological lesions in the presence of Tanshinone IIa, compared with positive control Danshen injection.

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    Biomechanical analysis of optic nerve injury treated by compound light granules and ciliary neurotrophic factor
    Yuying Jiang, Haitao Xu, Jingxiang Liu, Peng Li, Yazhen Wu
    2012, 7 (36):  2889-2900. 
    Abstract ( 208 )   PDF (281KB) ( 834 )   Save

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    Electroacupuncture reduces injury to the blood-brain barrier following cerebral ischemia/ reperfusion injury
    Yongjun Peng, Hesheng Wang, Jianhua Sun, Li Chen, Meijuan Xu, Jihong Chu
    2012, 7 (36):  2901-2906. 
    Abstract ( 202 )   PDF (288KB) ( 1081 )   Save

    This study used electroacupuncture at Renzhong (DU26) and Baihui (DU20) in a rat model of cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury. Neurological deficit scores, western blotting, and reverse transcription-PCR results demonstrated that electroacupuncture markedly reduced neurological deficits, decreased corpus striatumaquaporin-4 protein and mRNA expression, and relieved damage to the blood-brain barrier in a rat model of cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury. These results suggest that electroacupuncture most likely protects the blood brain barrier by regulating aquaporin-4 expression following cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury.

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    Secretion of nerve growth factor, brain-derived eurotrophic factor, and glial cell-line derived eurotrophic factor in co-culture of four cell types in erebrospinal fluid-containing medium
    Sanjiang Feng, Minghua Zhuang, Rui Wu
    2012, 7 (36):  2907-2914. 
    Abstract ( 313 )   PDF (169KB) ( 908 )   Save

    The present study co-cultured human embryonic olfactory ensheathing cells, human Schwann cells, human amniotic epithelial cells and human vascular endothelial cells in complete culture mediumcontaining cerebrospinal fluid. Enzyme linked immunosorbent assay was used to detect nerve growth factor, brain-derived neurotrophic factor, and glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor secretion in the supernatant of co-cultured cells. Results showed that the number of all cell types reached a peak at 7–10 days, and the expression of nerve growth factor, brain-derived neurotrophic factor, and glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor peaked at 9 days. Levels of secreted nerve growth factor were four-fold higher than brain-derived neurotrophic factor, which was three-fold higher than glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor. Increasing concentrations of cerebrospinal fluid (10%, 20% and 30%) in the growth medium caused a decrease of neurotrophic factor secretion.Results indicated co-culture of human embryonic olfactory ensheathing cells, human Schwann cells,human amniotic epithelial cells and human vascular endothelial cells improved the expression of nerve growth factor, brain-derived neurotrophic factor, and glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor.The reduction of cerebrospinal fluid extravasation at the transplant site after spinal cord injury is beneficial for the survival and secretion of neurotrophic factors from transplanted cells.

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    Basic fibroblast growth factor gene transfection in repair of internal carotid artery aneurysm wall
    Lei Jiao, Ming Jiang, Jinghai Fang, Yinsheng Deng, Zejun Chen, Min Wu
    2012, 7 (36):  2915-2921. 
    Abstract ( 273 )   PDF (275KB) ( 815 )   Save

    Surgery or interventional therapy has some risks in the treatment of cerebral aneurysm. We established an internal carotid artery aneurysm model by dripping elastase in the crotch of the right internal and external carotid arteries of New Zealand rabbits. Following model induction, lentivirus carrying basic fibroblast growth factor was injected through the ear vein. We found that the longer the action time of the lentivirus, the smaller the aneurysm volume. Moreover, platelet-derived growth factor expression in the aneurysm increased, but smooth muscle 22 alpha and hypertension-related gene 1 mRNA expression decreased. At 1, 2, 3, and 4 weeks following model establishment, following 1 week of injection of lentivirus carrying basic fibroblast growth factor, the later the intervention time, the more severe the blood vessel damage, and the bigger the aneurysm volume, the lower the smooth muscle 22 alpha and hypertension-related gene 1 mRNA expression.Simultaneously, platelet-derived growth factor expression decreased. These data suggest that recombinant lentivirus carrying basic fibroblast growth factor can repair damaged cells in the aneurysmal wall and inhibit aneurysm dynamic growth, and that the effect is dependent on therapeutic duration.

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    Establishing a protein expression profile database for the normal human pituitary gland using two-dimensional high-performance liquid chromatography combined with LTQ-Orbitrap mass spectrometry
    Rong Xie, Wei Xu, Weimin Bao, Hang Liu, Luping Chen, Yiwen Shen, Jianhong Zhu
    2012, 7 (36):  2922-2928. 
    Abstract ( 222 )   PDF (267KB) ( 921 )   Save

    In this study, we selected adult normal pituitary gland tissues from six patients during operations forpituitary microadenomas via the transsphenoidal approach for extended normal pituitary tissue resection around the tumor, and analyzed the protein expression of human normal pituitary using two-dimensional high-performance liquid chromatography combined with LTQ-Orbitrap mass spectrometry proteomics technology. The ten most highly expressed proteins in normal human pituitary were: alpha 3 type VI collagen isoform 5 precursor (abundance among tall pituitary proteins,1.30%),fibrinogen beta chain preproprotein (0.99%), vimentin (0.73%), prolactin (0.69%), ATP synthase, H+ transporting and mitochondrial F1 complex beta subunit precursor (0.52%), keratin I (0.49%), growth hormone (0.45%), carbonic anhydrase I (0.40%), heat shock protein 90 kDa I (0.31%), and annexin V (0.30%). Based on the biological function classifications of these proteins,the top three categories by content were neuroendocrine proteins (abundance among all pituitary proteins, 40.1%), catalytic and metabolic proteins (28.3%), and cell signal transduction proteins(9.8%). Based on cell positioning classification, the top three categories were cell organelle (24.5%),membrane (20.8%), and cytoplasm (13.0%). Based on biological process classification, the top three categories of proteins are involved in physiological processes (42.9%), cellular processes (40.4%), and regulation of biological processes (9.1%). Our experimental findings indicate that a protein expression profile database of normal human pituitary can be precisely and efficiently established by proteomics technology

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    Neurochemical metabolites in the medial prefrontal cortex in bipolar disorder
    Osman ?zdel, Demet Kalayci, Gülfizar S?zeri-Varma, Yilmaz Kiro?lu, Selim Tümkaya
    2012, 7 (36):  2929-2936. 
    Abstract ( 237 )   PDF (256KB) ( 996 )   Save

    The aim of this study was to investigate proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy metabolite values in the medial prefrontal cortex of individuals with euthymic bipolar disorder. The subjects consisted of 15 patients with euthymic bipolar disorder type I and 15 healthy controls. We performed proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy of the bilateral medial prefrontal cortex and measured levels of N-acetyl aspartate, choline and creatine. Levels of these three metabolites in the medial prefrontal cortex were found to be lower in patients with bipolar disorder compared with healthy controls. A positive correlation was found between illness duration and choline levels in the right medial prefrontal cortex. Our study suggests that during the euthymic period, there are abnormalities in cellular energy and membrane phospholipid metabolism in the medial prefrontal cortex, and that this may impair neuronal activity and integrity.

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    Gamma knife treatment for refractory epilepsy in seizure focus localized by positron emission tomography/CT
    Xia Bai, Xuemei Wang, Hongwei Wang, Shigang Zhao, Xiaodong Han, Linjun Hao
    2012, 7 (36):  2937-2943. 
    Abstract ( 212 )   PDF (102KB) ( 1340 )   Save

    A total of 80 patients with refractory epilepsy were recruited from the Inner Mongolia Medical College Affiliated Hospital. The foci of 60% of the patients could be positioned using a combined positron emission tomography/CT imaging modality. Hyper- and hypometabolism foci were examined as part of this study. Patients who had abnormal metabolism in positron emission tomography/CT imaging were divided into intermittent-phase group and the seizure-phase group.The intermittent-phase group was further divided into a single-focus group and a multiple-foci group according to the number of seizure foci detected by imaging. Following gamma knife treatment,seizure frequency was significantly lower in the intermittent-phase group and the seizure-phase group. Wieser’s classification reached Grade I or II in nearly 40% of patients. Seizure frequency was significantly lower following treatment, but Wieser’s classification score was significantly higher in the seizure-phase group compared with the intermittent-phase group. Seizure frequency was significantly lower following treatment in the single-focus group, but Wieser’s classification score was significantly higher in the single-focus group as compared with the multiple-foci group.

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    Use of acupuncture to treat cerebral infarction in the last 10 years A Scopus-based literature analysis
    Jiajun Chen, Min Yao, Yunhua Zhao, Xiya Jin, Yuanbing Li, Lihong Huang
    2012, 7 (36):  2944-2951. 
    Abstract ( 241 )   PDF (133KB) ( 976 )   Save

    OBJECTIVE: To identify global research trends in the use of acupuncture to treat cerebral infarction.DATA RETRIEVAL: We performed a bibliometric analysis of studies on the use of acupuncture to treat cerebral infarction published during 2002–2011, retrieved from Scopus, using the key words of acupuncture and cerebral infarction or ischemic stroke.SELECTION CRITERIA: Inclusion criteria: peer-reviewed articles on the use of acupuncture to treat cerebral infarction indexed in Scopus and published between 2002 and 2011; types of publications were original research articles, reviews, meeting abstracts, proceedings papers, book chapters,editorial material, and news items. Exclusion criteria: articles that required manual searching or telephone access; documents that were not published in the public domain; and corrected papers.MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: (a) Annual publication output; (b) language of publication; (c) type of publication; (d) key words of publication; (e) publication by research field; (f) publication by journal;(g) publication by country and institution; (h) publication by author; (i) most-cited papers between 2002 and 2006; and (j) most-cited papers between 2007 and 2011.RESULTS: A total of 160 publications on the use of acupuncture to treat cerebral infarction from 2002–2011 were retrieved from Scopus. The number of publications increased gradually over the 10-year study period; most were written in Chinese or English. Articles and reviews constituted the major types. The most frequent key word used was acupuncture. The most prolific journals in this area were Zhongguo Zhen Jiu and the Chinese Journal of Clinical Rehabilitation. Of the 160 publications retrieved, half came from Chinese authors and institutions. Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine was the most prolific research institute. Two papers were cited 30 times; they were published in 2002 and 2009, respectively.CONCLUSION: In the field of neuroscience, there is little literature on acupuncture for cerebral infarction. The most-cited papers were cited 30 times in the past 3 years. We believe that, with advances in the study of mechanisms in neurobiology, research on acupuncture will also advance and will become the concern of more scholars.

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