ABSTRACT
Aim: To investigate the effects of Yueju pill on depressive-like behavior and neurogenesis in chronic corticosterone (CORT) induced mice. Methods: Male C57BL/6N mice received chronic administration of CORT as well as Yueju pill. Behavioral tests were performed after the completion of treatment. The number of Ki67+ cells in the hippocampal DG region of each group was counted by immunohistochemistry test. Meanwhile, the expression levels of PKA, ERK and CREB were detected by Western blot. Results: The sucrose preference notably decreased (P < 0. 05) in CORT-induced mice in SPT, and it was raised obviously after Yueju treatment. The TST and NSF test displayed the similar results. The immunohistochemistry showed that the number of Ki67+ cells in the hippocampus DG significantly decreased in CORT-induced mice, while the number of Yueju group apparently increased (P < 0. 05). Western blot showed that compared with control group, the protein expressions of PKA-ERK-CREB pathway were down-regulated in CORT-induced mice, which were up-regulated after Yueju treatment (P < 0. 05). Conclusions: In CORT induced mice, Yueju pill can enhance the hippocampal neurogenesis by activating the PKA-ERK-CREB signaling pathway to display antidepressant-like effect.