ABSTRACT
<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To evaluate the effect of Qufeng Zhidong Recipe (QZR) on the head tic behavior, and the mRNA expressions of Notch1 and dopamine D2 receptor (D2R) in tic disordered mice.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Mouse model like wet-dog shake head tic disorder was established by peritoneal injection of 5-HT2A/C agonist DOI for 14 successive days. The model mice were divided into three groups, the model group, the Chinese medicine (CM) treated group and the Western medicine (WM) treated group, they were intervened respectively with distilled water, QZR (10 g/kg) and haloperidol (1 mg/kg). Besides, a normal control group was set up and gastrogavaged with distilled water. The effect of intervention was evaluated 2 weeks later by estimating the head tic and the creeping distance of animals, and the mRNA expressions of D2R and Notch1 in corpus striatum and prefrontal cortex regions were detected using Real-time PCR.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The wet-dog shake response and the creeping distance of mice were significantly reduced after intervention in both intervened groups, showing insignificant difference between the effects of CM and WM (P > 0.05). The expression of D2R mRNA in corpus striatum was higher than that in the prefrontal cortex (P < 0.01), at the prefrontal cortex, it was 151 +/- 30 in the CM group and 180 +/- 41 in the WM group, and at the corpus striatum, 710 +/- 64 and 850 +/- 80 respectively, all higher than those in the model group (P < 0.05). While the Notch1 mRNA expression in model mice were lower at the prefrontal cortex than at the corpus striatum (P < 0.05). After intervention it was 55 +/- 20 in the CM group and 48 +/- 23 in the WM group at the prefrontal cortex, all significantly lower than that in the model group (P < 0.05).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>DOI-induced wet-dog shake response could well simulate the clinical characteristics of tic disorder; QZR could improve the tic behavior and creeping distance in the model mice. The up-regulation of D2R mRNA expression after QZR intervention may be related with the down-regulation of Notch1 expression, this findings is worthy of further studies.</p>