ABSTRACT
Objective:To explore the effect of Bushen Tongluo prescription （BSTLP） on the synaptic plasticity of hippocampal neurons in vascular dementia （VD） model rats and its mechanism. Method:SD male rats of SPF grade were selected. The rat model of VD was established by permanent bilateral ligation of the common carotid artery several times. The model rats were randomly divided into a model group， an insulin-like growth factor-1 （IGF-1， 20 μg·kg<sup>-1</sup>） group， high-dose （3 g·kg<sup>-1</sup>）， medium-dose （1.5 g·kg<sup>-1</sup>）， and low-dose （0.75 g·kg<sup>-1</sup>） BSTLP groups. A sham operation group was also set. Drugs were administered to rats by gavage once a day for four weeks. The model group and the sham operation group received the same volume of normal saline. After the last administration， all the rats were detected for spatial learning and memory by the Morris water maze. The apoptosis of hippocampal neurons was detected by terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase （TdT） dUTP nick-end labeling （TUNEL） assay. The changes in synaptic morphological structure and the number of dendritic spines in hippocampal neurons were detected by Golgi's method. The expression levels of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase （PI3K）， protein kinase B （Akt）， mammalian target of rapamycin （mTOR）， synaptophysin （SYP）， and amyloid precursor protein （APP） in hippocampal neurons were detected by Western blot. Result:Compared with the sham operation group， the model group showed prolonged escape latency， lengthened swimming distance， dwindled the number of times for the platform crossing after platform removal （<italic>P</italic><0.05）， increased apoptotic cells （<italic>P</italic><0.05）， declining synaptic dendritic spines （<italic>P</italic><0.05）， down-regulated expression levels of PI3K， Akt， mTOR， and SYP proteins， and up-regulated expression level of APP protein in hippocampal neurons （<italic>P</italic><0.05）. Compared with the model group， the BSTLP groups and the IGF-1 group showed shortened escape latency and swimming distance， increased number of times for the platform crossing after platform removal （<italic>P</italic><0.05），declining apoptotic cells （<italic>P</italic><0.05）， up-regulated expression levels of PI3K， Akt， mTOR， and SYP proteins， and down-regulated expression level of APP protein in hippocampal neurons （<italic>P</italic><0.05）. Compared with the IGF-1 group， the high-dose BSTLP group showed no significant difference in the escape latency， swimming distance， the number of times for the platform crossing after platform removal， apoptotic cells， synaptic dendritic spines， and expression levels of PI3K， Akt， mTOR， SYP， and APP proteins in hippocampal neurons. However， the differences were significant in the medium-dose and low-dose BSTLP groups （<italic>P</italic><0.05）. Conclusion:BSTLP can improve the learning and memory of rats with VD. The mechanism is presumedly related to the activation of thePI3K/Akt/mTOR pathway and improvement of synaptic plasticity of hippocampal neurons.
ABSTRACT
Objective:To observe the effect of Bushen Tongluo prescription on the pathogenesis of lung fibrosis induced by bleomycin and the transforming growth factor β1(TGF-β1)/Smads pathway protein in rats,and reveal the mechanism of this formula in inhibiting pulmonary fibrosis. Method:Totally 48 male SD rats were randomly divided into five groups:normal group(8 rats),model group(10 rats),high and low-dose Bushen Tongluo group(10 rats)and hydrocortisone sodium succinate group(10 rats). The model of pulmonary fibrosis was made with bleomycin except for normal group.Since day 3 after surgery,14.2,7.1 g·kg-1 Bushen Tongluo prescription were given by ig in high and low-dose Bushen Tongluo groups,and 4.58 g·kg-1 hydrocortisone sodium succinate was given by gavage(ig) in normal group and model group.All of the rats were put to death after 28 days.The contents of hydroxyproline (HYP),hyaluronic acid (HA) and laminin (LN) were measured after the death of the rats.Hematoxylin-eosin staining (HE) and Masson tricolor staining were used to observe the pathological changes of lung tissue. Real-time PCR and Western blot were used to observe the changes of mRNA and protein expressions of lung tissues TGF-β1, Smad2, Smad3, Smad7 in each group. Result:Compared with normal group, the level of pulmonary fibrosis was more significant in model group, and the serum HYP,HA and LN were increased obviously(PPβ1, Smad2,Smad3 proteins and mRNA in lung tissues were increased obviously(PPPPPβ1, Smad2, Smad3 protein and mRNA were decreased obviously(PPConclusion:Bushen Tongluo prescription can effectively improve the pathological process of pulmonary fibrosis, and the mechanism may be related to the regulation of TGF-β1/Smads pathway.
ABSTRACT
Objective To approach the effect of cathepsin K(CK) on the onset of osteoporosis,and to study the influence of Bushen Tongluo Prescription(BTP,with the actions of invigorating the kidney and dredging the meridians) on osteoclast CK in ovariectomized rats.Methods Thirty female SD rats were divided into three groups randomly: sham-operation group,model group and BTP(12.46g.kg-1.d-1) group.The bilateral ovaries in rats of the model group and BTP group were removed.Four weeks later,BTP group were given gastric gavage of BTP.On the 6th and 12th weeks,we detected the general bone density of rats,examined CK expressionin osteoclasts with Western blot and reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction(RT-PCR) methods.ResultsThe in-vitro cultured cells had the phenotype feature of mature osteoclasts.The bone mineral density of ovariectomized rats was negatively correlated with CK expression in time-effect manner.BTP down-regulated the CK protein and CK mRNA expression(P