Exploration on Effect of Yinhuotang on Depression-like Behavior in Mice with Bilateral Ovariectomy Induced by Chronic Stress Based on E2/ERβ Signaling Pathway / 中国实验方剂学杂志

Objective:To observe the effect of Yinhuotang （YHT） on the depression-like behavior of mice with bilateral ovariectomy （OVX） induced by chronic stress and explore its action mechanism based on estradiol （E₂）-estrogen receptor <italic>β </italic>（ER<italic>β</italic>） pathway. Method:The experiment was divided into two parts. In the first part， mice were randomly divided into the sham operation （Sham） group， model （OVX） group， positive drug （E₂， 0.13 mg·kg^-1） group， and YHT （23.4 g·kg^-1） group. The OVX model was reproduced by OVX combined with chronic unpredictable mild stress （CUMS）. On the 8th day after OVX， the mice in each group were exposed to CUMS and treated with drugs. The changes in immobility time， horizontal movement score， and vertical movement score of mice in each group were observed in forced swimming test （FST）， tail suspension test （TST） and open-field test （OFT）， respectively. Serum and brain E₂ levels were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay （ELISA）， the aromatizing enzyme （Cyp19） mRNA expression by real-time fluorescence polymerase chain reaction （Real-time PCR）， the expression of ER<italic>α</italic> and ER<italic>β</italic> in dentate gyrus of hippocampus by immunohistochemistry （IHC）， and the total ER<italic>α</italic> and ER<italic>β</italic> levels in the brain by Western blotting. In the second part， the mice were divided into the Sham group， OVX group， YHT group， and blocker （Y+B， 23.4 g·kg^-1+100 μg·kg^-1） group. Mice in the Y+B group were first treated with intragastric administration of YHT and then with intraperitoneal injection of ER<italic>β</italic> blocker （PHTPP） on the next day. The changes in immobility time， horizontal motor score， and vertical motor score were observed in the three behavioral tests. Result:Compared with the Sham group， the OVX group displayed significantly increased immobility time， decreased horizontal and vertical movement scores （<italic>P</italic><0.01）， down-regulated serum and brain E₂levels （<italic>P</italic><0.01） and Cyp19 mRNA expression in the brain （<italic>P</italic><0.01）， and up-regulated total ER<italic>β</italic> in dentate gyrus and brain （<italic>P</italic><0.01）. However， there was no significant change in total ER<italic>α</italic> expression in the dentate gyrus or brain. As revealed by comparison with the OVX group， the immobility time of the E₂ group was decreased significantly， while the horizontal and vertical movement scores were increased significantly （<italic>P</italic><0.01）. The E₂ levels in the serum was significantly elevated （<italic>P</italic><0.01）. The Cyp19 mRNA expression in the brain and the total ER<italic>α</italic> expression in the dentate gyrus and brain were not significantly changed， while the expression levels of total ER<italic>β</italic> in dentate gyrus and brain were significantly increased （<italic>P</italic><0.01）. In the YHT group， the immobility time declined significantly， and the horizontal and vertical movement scores rose significantly （<italic>P</italic><0.01）. The serum E₂ did not increase， whereas the brain E₂ increased significantly （<italic>P</italic><0.01）. The expression of Cyp19 gene in the brain was significantly increased （<italic>P</italic><0.05，<italic>P</italic><0.01）. There was no significant change in the total ER<italic>α</italic> of dentate gyrus and brain， but the expression levels of total ER<italic>β</italic> in dentate gyrus and brain were significantly increased （<italic>P</italic><0.05，<italic>P</italic><0.01）. PHTPP reversed the effects of YHT on OVX mice in FST， TST and OFT. Conclusion:YHT promotes the synthesis and release of endogenous estrogen in brain and improves the depression-like behavior of OVX mice induced by chronic stress， which is possibly related to the activation of E₂/ER<italic>β</italic> pathway.

Total flavonoids of Drynariae Rhizoma regulates ER-p38 MAPK signaling pathway to improve scopolamine-induced learning and memory impairments in model mice / 中国中药杂志

This study intended to explore the effect and mechanism of total flavonoids of Drynariae Rhizoma in improving scopola-mine-induced learning and memory impairments in model mice. Ninety four-month-old Kunming(KM) mice were randomly divided into six groups. The ones in the model group and blank group were treated with intragastric administration of normal saline, while those in the medication groups separately received the total flavonoids of Drynariae Rhizoma, Kangnaoshuai Capsules, donepezil, as well as total flavonoids of Rhizoma Drynariae plus estrogen receptor(ER) blocker by gavage. The mouse model of learning and memory impairments was established via intraperitoneal injection of scopolamine. Following the measurement of mouse learning and memory abilities in Morris water maze test, the hippocampal ERβ expression was detected by immunohistochemistry, and the expression levels of ERβ and phosphorylated p38(p-p38) in the hippocampus and B-cell lymphoma 2(Bcl-2), Bcl-2-associated death promoter(Bad), and cysteinyl aspartate-specific protease-3(caspase-3) in the apoptotic system were assayed by Western blot. The contents of malondia-ldehyde(MDA), superoxide dismutase(SOD), and nitric oxide(NO) in the hippocampus were then determined using corresponding kits. Compared with the control group, the model group exhibited significantly prolonged incubation period, reduced frequency of cros-sing the platform, shortened residence time in the target quadrant, lowered ERβ, Bcl-2 and SOD activity in the hippocampus, and increased p-p38/p38, Bad, caspase-3, MDA, and NO. Compared with the model group, the total flavonoids of Rhizoma Drynariae increased the expression of ERβ and SOD in the hippocampus, down-regulated the expression of neuronal pro-apoptotic proteins, up-re-gulated the expression of anti-apoptotic proteins, and reduced p-p38/p38, MDA, and NO. The effects of total flavonoids of Drynariae Rhizoma on the above indexes were reversed by ER blocker. It has been proved that the total flavonoids of Drynariae Rhizoma obviously alleviate scopolamine-induced learning and memory impairments in mice, which may be achieved by regulating the neuronal apoptotic system and oxidative stress via the ER-p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase(ER-p38 MAPK) signaling pathway.

Effect of Naringenin on Oxidative Stress and Tau Protein Phosphorylation of Aβ25-35-induced PC12 Cell Injury / 中国实验方剂学杂志

Objective:To investigate the effects of naringenin on oxidative stress and Tau protein phosphorylation of adrenal pheochromocytoma（PC12） cells injured by β-amyloid（Aβ）25-35 and its relationship with estrogen receptor（ER） and phosphatidylinositol -3 kinase/protein kinase B（PI3K/Akt） signaling pathway. Method:The PC12 cells were intervened with Aβ25-35 to prepare the injury model. The experiment was divided into blank group， model group， naringenin（400，40，4，0.4，0.04，4×10-3，4×10-4，4×10-5 μmol·L-1）group， positive drugs estradiol（E2）（1 nmol·L-1）+Aβ25-35 group， naringenin（0.4，0.04，4×10-3，4×10-4，4×10-5 μmol·L-1）+Aβ25-35 group， E2+Aβ25-35+ER antagonist（ICI182780）（1 μmol·L-1） group， naringenin+Aβ25-35+ICI182780 group， E2+Aβ25-35+PI3K blocker（LY294002）（50 μmol·L-1） group， naringenin+Aβ25-35+LY294002 group. Methye thiazolye telrazlium（MTT）method was used to detect the cell proliferation index， 2'，7'-Dichlorodi -hydrofluorescein diacetate（DCFH-DA） was used as a fluorescent probe to detect the content of reactive osygen species（ROS）， the content of malondialdehyde（MDA） and the activity of superoxide dismutase（SOD） were measured by thiobarbituric acid（TBA） and oxidase methods， Western blot was used to detect the expression of phosphorylated Tau protein/total Tau protein（p-Tau/t-Tau）. Result:According to the results of MTT experiment， 0.4 μmol·L-1 was selected as the best effective concentration of naringenin， compared with the blank group， the cell proliferation index of model group decreased significantly （P<0.01）， compared with model group， the cell proliferation index of naringenin+Aβ25-35 group increased significantly （P<0.01）. In addition， compared with blank group， the content of ROS， MDA and the expression of p-Tau/t-Tau in the model group increased significantly （P<0.01）， and the activity of SOD decreased significantly （P<0.01）， compared with model group， the content of ROS， MDA and the expression of p-Tau/t-Tau in naringenin+Aβ25-35 group decreased significantly （P<0.01）， and the activity of SOD increased significantly （P<0.01）， compared with naringenin+Aβ25-35 group， the addition of ICI182780 and LY294002 significantly reversed the role of naringenin in the above indicators （P<0.01）. The effect of naringenin was similar to that of E2. Conclusion:Naringenin can improve the cell proliferation index and protect PC12 cells from Aβ25-35 injury， which may be achieved by activating ER and PI3K/Akt signaling pathway to reduce ROS， MDA content， p-Tau/t-Tau expression and promote SOD activity.