ABSTRACT
Objective To investigate the effects of fasudil on expressions of Bcl-2 and Bax in cerebral cortex of model rats with subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH). Methods Thirty rats were divided into sham operation group, SAH group and SAH+fasudil group, 10 rats in each group. Double injection of blood into occipital cistern method was used for SAH model in SAH group and SAH+fasudil group. In the sham operation group, the blood injection was instead by normal saline. In the SAH+fasudil group, at 30 min after the second injection of blood, rats were administrated with intraperitoneal injection of fasudil at a dose of 3 mg/kg. The general situation, neurological score, TUNEL staining for cortex cell apoptosis, immune histochemical staining and Western blotting assay for Bcl-2 and Bax protein expression were compared 24 h after the operation between the three groups. Results Compared with the sham operation group, rats in SAH group and SAH +fasudil group appeared obvious neurological deficits. The neurological score was significantly lower in SAH group ( 2.68 ± 0.31) than that of sham operation group (5.00±0.00). The neurological score was significantly higher in SAH+fasudil group (3.27 ± 0.35) compared with that of SAH group (2.68 ± 0.31, P<0.05). There was obvious cell apoptosis in SAH group and SAH+fasudil group, and the apoptosis was less in SAH+fasudil group than that of SAH group (P<0.05). The level of Bcl-2 expression was significantly lower in SAH group than that of sham operation group, and Bax expression was significantly higher in SAH group than that of sham operation group (P<0.05). The level of Bcl-2 expression was significantly higher in SAH+fasudil group than that of SAH group, but Bax expression was significantly lower in SAH+fasudil group than that of SAH group (P<0.05). Conclusion Fasudil can improve the neurological damage in rats with SAH, which may be related with the regulation of apoptosis related proteins Bcl-2 and Bax.
ABSTRACT
Background Peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.) is an important economic and oilseed crop. Long-term rainless conditions and seasonal droughts can limit peanut yields and were conducive to preharvest aflatoxin contamination. To elucidate the molecular mechanisms by which peanut responds and adapts to water limited conditions, we isolated and characterized several drought-induced genes from peanut roots using a suppression subtractive hybridization (SSH) technique. Results RNA was extracted from peanut roots subjected to a water stress treatment (45% field capacity) and from control plants (75% field capacity), and used to generate an SSH cDNA library. A total of 111 non-redundant sequences were obtained, with 80 unique transcripts showing homology to known genes and 31 clones with no similarity to either hypothetical or known proteins. GO and KEGG analyses of these differentially expressed ESTs indicated that drought-related responses in peanut could mainly be attributed to genes involved in cellular structure and metabolism. In addition, we examined the expression patterns of seven differentially expressed candidate genes using real-time reverse transcription-PCR (qRT-PCR) and confirmed that all were up-regulated in roots in response to drought stress, but to differing extents. Conclusions We successfully constructed an SSH cDNA library in peanut roots and identified several drought-related genes. Our results serve as a foundation for future studies into the elucidation of the drought stress response mechanisms of peanut.