ABSTRACT
ObjectiveTo investigate the effect of modified Xiaoyaosan on central dopamine transporter （DAT）/protein kinase C （PKC）-dependent signaling pathway in hyperprolactinemia （HPRL） rats. MethodHPRL rat model was established by chronic combined stress combined with intraperitoneal injection of metoclopramide. Ninety-six rats were randomly divided into six groups， namely， the blank group， model group， western medicine （bromocriptine， 0.001 g·kg-1·d-1） group， and high-， medium-， and low-dose （60， 30， 15 g·kg-1·d-1） modified Xiaoyaosan groups. After 14 days of administration， the serum prolactin （PRL） content was detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay， the expression of tyrosine hydroxylase （TH） in rat hypothalamus by immunohistochemistry， and the protein expression of DAT and PKC in hypothalamus by Western blot. ResultCompared with the blank group， the model group exhibited significantly increased PRL and DAT （P<0.01）， but decreased TH and PKC （P<0.01）. Compared with the model group， bromocriptine and modified Xiaoyaosan at the medium dose significantly lowered the content of PRL （P<0.01）. The modified Xiaoyaosan at the medium and high doses elevated the expression of TH （P<0.05， P<0.01）. The expression levels of PKC in the medium- and low-dose modified Xiaoyaosan groups and the western medicine group were significantly increased （P<0.01）， while the DAT expression levels in the high-， medium-， and low-dose modified Xiaoyaosan groups and the western medicine group were decreased （P<0.01）. ConclusionThe modified Xiaoyaosan is able to up-regulate the expression of TH and down-regulate the level of DAT through PKC-dependent signaling pathway， thereby regulating the PRL.