Pathogenesis of depression: focusing on protein levels and genetic abnormalities / 中华神经科杂志

Depression is a common psychiatric disorder characterized by a wide range of clinical manifestations, including depressed mood, psychomotor retardation, diminished motivation, anhedonia, despair, and even suicidality. The heterogeneity of the features of depression indicates the diversity of its pathogenesis. Protein levels and their genetic abnormalities are essential factors in the pathogenesis of depression. This review focuses on the levels and genetic abnormalities of depression-related proteins to further elaborate the pathogenesis of depression and presents current problems and challenges to provide a theoretical foundation for the development of novel antidepressant medications.

Helioscopianoids A-Q, bioactive jatrophane diterpenoid esters from

The EtOH extracts of the whole plants of afforded 17 new jatrophane diterpenoid esters, helioscopianoids A-Q (-), along with eight known compounds (-). Their structures were elucidated by extensive spectroscopic methods and Mo(OAc)-induced ECD analysis, and the structures of compounds , , and were confirmed by X-ray crystallography. Compounds - were evaluated for inhibitory effects on P-glycoprotein (P-gp) in an adriamycin (ADM)-resistant human breast adenocarcinoma cell line (MCF-7/ADR) and neuroprotective effects against serum deprivation-induced and rotenone-induced PC12 cell damage. Compounds and increased the accumulation of ADM in MCF-7/ADR cells by approximately 3-fold at a concentration of 20 μmol/L. Compound could attenuate rotenone-induced PC12 cell damage, and compounds , , and showed neuroprotective activities against serum deprivation-induced PC12 cell damage.

Study of synergistic effect of hyperlipoproteinemiaand Aβ in processing of Alzheimer′s disease / 中国药理学通报

Aim To research the synergistic effect of hyperlipoproteinemia and Aβ in the processing of Alzheimer′s disease.Methods Seventy SD rats were randomly divided into seven groups, and dealt with D-gal(hypodermic injection), hyperlipemia diet, microinjection into both side of CA1 section in hippocampus, independently.Morris water maze(MWM) test was used to evaluate the spatial memory impairments.Tau and tau(pThr181) pathology in the hippocampus were detected using Western blot and immunohistochemistry.Nissl′s staining was used to detect cell apoptosis.Results Aβ25-35-treated rats showed significant impairments of spatial memory in MWM test, especially in the group of D-gal+Aβ25-35+HLD(P<0.01).Furthermore, these rats treated with Aβ25-35, D-gal, and hyperlipemia diet, exhibited significantly increased phosphorylation of tau, particularly in the Thr181 site.Conclusion Hyperlipoproteinemia is the risk factor for older person, which could strengthen the toxic effect of Aβ, and promote phosphorylation of tau.

Progress on chemokines participating in Alzheimer′s disease / 中国药理学通报

Chemokines play pleiotropic roles in the pathology of Alzheimer′s disease(AD),a chronic inflammatory disease of central nervous system.The neuropathological features of AD include neurofibrillary tangles,amyloid plaques,neuroinflammation,and neuronal synaptic loss.Chemokines are involved in the pathogenesis of AD by activating or regulating inflammatory cells or glial cells,playing dual key roles of the pro-and anti-inflammatory properties in AD.The levels of chemokines in serum,cerebrospinal fluid and brain tissue of AD patients are changed accordingly.This review summarizes the role of chemokines and their receptors in AD in the biological activities and unveils the changing rules,aiming to provide new strategies for clinical treatment of AD.

The protective effects of Ginsenosides Rg1 in AD-like pathological model induced by okadaic acid / 中国药理学通报

Aim To the investigate the protective effect of ginsenoside Rg1 in Alzheimer's disease ( AD)-like neurotoxicity model induced by okadaic acid ( OKA) in the cellular level , and explore the mecha-nism preliminarily. Methods The PC12 cells model, simulate neurons, induced by OKA was given Rg1 (1, 5,10 μmol·L-1), and melatonin (Melat) 10 μmol· L-1 was given as a positive control. MTT and LDH were carried out to assess the cell viability and mortality. To detect the accumulation of ROS, the DCFH-DA fluores-cent probe was conducted. And to assess the change of the activity of a variety of antioxidant enzymes, various kits were used, including ABTS、CAT、SOD、GSH-Px and GSSG/GSH. Results Compared with the control group, the survival rate of PC12 cell in OKA group re-duces significantly, the mortality rate was increased sig-nificantly , the number of early apoptotic cells was in-creased significantly (P<0. 01). Oxidative stress-relat-ed indicators show that ROS accumulation within the cells of OKA group increases significantly ( P<0. 01 ) , and the total antioxidant capacity ( ABTS ) decreases significantly ( P < 0. 01 ) , the activity of peroxidase (Catalase, CAT) (P <0. 01), glutathione peroxidase (glutathione peroxidase, GSH-Px) and superoxide dis-mutase ( superoxide dismutase, SOD) decreased signifi-cantly ( P <0. 05 ) , the rate of GSSG/GSH increased significantly ( P <0. 01 ) . Compared with the model group, the different doses of Rg1 could improve the sur-vival rate and decrease the mortality rate of PC12 cell significantly in the group of OKA, and could decrease the level of the accumulation of ROS, improve the activ-ity of antioxidant enzymes. Conclusion Ginsenoside Rg1 can decrease PC12 cell apoptosis by exerting an-tioxidant effects, and protect the nerve cells in AD-like pathology model induced by OKA.

Mechanism of CCL2/MCP-1 in its relevant diseases / 中国药理学通报

Chemokine is a small protein which plays an impor-tant role in men's physiological function.It has chemotactic ac-tivity and is often secreted by immune cells and glial cells like microglia or astrocytes.Through the effect of chemokine recep-tors on target cells,various immune cells can achieve directional migration and play an important role in the diseases related with immunity and inflammation.CCL2,also known as monocyte chemotactic protein-1 (MCP-1 ),is one member of chemokine CC subfamily (βsubfamily).It can chemokine monocytes, macrophages and T lymphocytes to affect their phagocytosis func-tion and produce antibodies to combat invading microorganisms. In recent years,it has been found that CCL2 plays a key role in the occurrence and development of the problems concerning cen-tral nervous system and immune system as well as cancer, AIDS,leukemia,diabetes and other diseases.This thesis is to give an elaboration on the latest research on CCL2 and the rele-vant diseases.

Noncoding RNA in research of pharmacology / 中国药理学与毒理学杂志

Discovery of noncoding RNA(ncRNA)over the past decade has reflected a paradigm shift of traditional RNA research. There is evidence that RNA can function not only as a messenger between DNA and protein,but as a regulator of genome organization and gene expression,which is increasingly elaborate in complex organisms. ncRNA seems to operate at many levels,however,in?cluding the physiological and pathological status. The research of ncRNA in pharmacology has not been summarized before. Here,we reviewed the emergence of the ncRNA in the research of pharma? cology,such as acting as biomarkers and medical targets. Besides,we mentioned their role in drug resistance and drug addiction in order to highlight the significant role of ncRNA in pharmacology.

Some diseases caused by Parkin / 中国药理学通报

Since Parkin was confirmed by the Japanese scholar to be associated with juvenile Parkinson′s disease, it has come to be the focus of the scholars and a lot of researches have been made on it. Apart from Parkinson′s disease, many other disea-ses have also been proved to be associated with the role of Parkin and its interaction with protein substrates, especially in various kinds of cancer diseases and leukemia. This paper focuses on the latest research about Parkin and its development in tumor diseases and leukemia.

Construction of cell model targeted on the damage by α-synuclein / 中国药理学通报

Aim To construct the cell model targeted on the damage by α-synuclein for screening anti-Parkinson’s Disease (PD)compounds.Methods The cDNA fragment of α-synucle-in gene was obtained by PCR methods and inserted into the re-combinant prokaryotic plasmid by molecular cloning technique. The recombinant plasmid was transformed into Escherichia coli, and subsequently induced to express α-synuclein protein.The recombinant α-synuclein was purified and identified by affinity chromatography,immunoblotting and mass spectrometry.The cells damage by α-synuclein was evaluated through cell viability measured by 3-(4,5-dimethyl-2-thiazolyl )-2,5-diphenyl-2-H-tetrazolium bromide.Results The obtained cDNA fragment ofα-synuclein in accordance with its theoretic molecular weight was cloned into pET30a plasmid and verified by sequencing.The re-combinant plasmid was transformed into bacteria E.Coli.BL21 (DE3)and induced to express α-synuclein by isopropyl β-D-1 -thiogalactopyranoside (IPTG).The expression condition was op-timized according to the culture temperature,the concentration of IPTG and the proliferation state of bacteria.The purified α-synu-clein was proved to be a 1 5.3 ku molecule weight protein,and could be immunoblotted with anti-α-synuclein antibody.The pu-rified α-synuclein could decrease the viability of PC1 2 cells and primary neurons significantly,and its effect was in a concentra-tion-dependent manner.Conclusion We have succeeded in constructing the cell model targeted on the damage by α-synucle-in.

Antidepressive-like effect of alcoholic extract of Polyrhachis vicina Roger / 中国药理学通报

Aim To investigate the antidepressive-like effect of ethyl alcohol extract of Polyrhachis vicina Rog-er(EAPR),and its mechanism.Methods EAPR was prepared by ethanol extraction.Its anti-depressive effect was investigated by tail suspension test (TST) and forced swimming test (FST).Furthermore,repeated doses of reserpine was used for preparing the depres-sive rats.Results EAPR has definitely anti-depres-sive effect,as evidenced by the decreased immobility time in FST and TST at the doses of 8 and 4 g·kg -1 (P <0.05).In the repeated reserpine evoked depres-sive rats,EAPR antagonized the symptoms induced by monoamines depletion and attenuated the anhedonia, as manifested by reversed hypothermia,akinesia and sucrose consumption at the doses of 8 and 2 g·kg -1 (P <0.05,P <0.01).Neuro-chemical studies showed that AFPR significantly increased the concentration of monoamines,including 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) and noradrenaline(NA)at the dose of 8 g·kg -1 (P <0.05),and had no effect on normal rats .Furthermore, EAPR increased the activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD)in serum,hippocampus and cerebral cortex at the dose of 8 g·kg -1 (P <0.05).Conclusion EA-PR possesses the definite antidep ressive properties, connected with the regulation of neurotransmitter me-tabolism and the nerve cells antioxidant effect.

Neuroprotective effect screening and the mechanism of 10 kinds of coumarin derivatives / 药学学报

The study reports the detection of neuroprotective effect of 10 kinds of coumarin derivatives and explores their possible mechanism. MTT method was used to screen the neuroprotective effect of 10 coumarin derivatives on neurotoxic agents (Aβ25-35 and rotenone) or OGD (oxygen-glucose deprivation). A compound with better protective effect was obtained. Then the effect of this compound on neurotoxic agents on PC12 was detected by the morphological observation. Furthermore, the effect of compound 3 on microglia with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) induced inflammation was detected. And the inflammatory factor was tested. Finally, direct free radical scavenging ability was detected. Compound 3 was found to be the best compound through three neurons toxic models. Not only compound 3 ameliorated cell viability reduced by three neurons toxic models, but also significantly inhibited the production of inflammatory factor (TNF-α and IL-1β). And its free radical scavenging ability is very good, especially the effect on superoxide anion, which is comparable with vitamin C. The significant scavenging effect of compound 3 on superoxide anion might be the mechanism of the neuroprotection. Compound 3 as a potential neural cell protective agent merits further investigation.

Effect of Morroniside on Hematocrit Percentage in Rat of Focal Cerebral Ischemia/Reperfusion / 中国康复理论与实践

@#Objective To investigate the effect of morroniside on hematocrit percentage in a rat model of focal cerebral ischemia/reperfusion.Methods After the modified model induced with occlusion of middle cerebral artery (MCAO) with suture embolus, morroniside was administered intragastrically at the dose of 30 mg/kg (n=8), 90 mg/kg (n=8), and 270 mg/kg (n=8) once a day for 7 d. Acetyl salicylic acid (ASA) was used as positive drug (n=8). Hematocrit percentage was measured with automatic blood tester. Results Compared with the sham group, hematocrit percentage of the model group significantly increased (P<0.001), but increased less in those treated with morroniside and ASA (P<0.05). Conclusion Morroniside could inhibit the increase of hematocrit percentage in MCAO rats.

CKLF1 induces SH-SY5 Y cell migration via PLCγ/FAK signaling pathway / 中国药理学通报

Aim To investigate the role of chemokine-like factor 1 ( CKLF1 ) in SH-SY5 Y cell migration and its molecular regulatory mechanism. Methods SH-SY5Y cells were stimulated with CKLF1 for 0. 5 h, 2 h, 8 h and 24 h, respectively. The migration distance and the percentage of migration cells were recorded by CELLocate analysis. The phosphorylation of focal ad-hesion kinase ( FAK) at Tyr-397 site was detected by Western blot analysis. By chemotaxis assays, we con-firmed the chemotaxis of CKLF1. Furthermore, FAK inhibitor PF-573228 and PLCγ inhibitor U73122 were used for the research of molecular regulatory mecha-nisms involved. Results CKLF1 promoted cell migra-tion and induced a strong increase in the phosphoryla-tion level of FAK-pY397 , which were significantly at-tenuated by the presence of U73122 ( a specific inhibi-tor for PLCγ) . In addition, the chemotaxis of CKLF1 was obviously blocked by the FAK inhibitor PF-573228 . Conclusion CKLF1 induces SH-SY5 Y cell migration via PLCγ/FAK signaling pathway.

CaMKⅡ:A molecular switch of synaptic plasticity / 中国药理学通报

Calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase Ⅱ(CaMKⅡ),which is an important protein kinase involved in learning and memory,is found in most tissues,but it is present in especially high concentrations in neurons.The relatively high expression of CaMKⅡin nervous system suggests it plays an im-portant role in the function of nervous system.This paper re-views the research development of the molecular structure of CaMKⅡ and its autophosphorylation,subcellular localization and its role in synaptic plasticity.

Screening of the nucleotide sequences affected by α-synuclein in vitro / 中国药理学通报

Aim To study the screening of the nucleo-tide sequences might be affected by α-syn in vitro. Methods The nucleotide sequences were synthesized according to the feature of base composition, and then mixed with the α-syn-GFP. The CD was used to ana-lyse the changes of the peak. Result The peak of the CD changed greatly when the α-syn-GFP mixed with the GC-box like sequence. Conclusion The α-syn-GFP might affect the GC-box like sequence after trans-located into the nuclei. Then, it plays a role in physio-logical and pathological conditions by affecting the reg-ulation of gene expression.

Biological functions and drug development of Pyk2 / 中国药理学通报

Pyk2(Proline-rich tyrosine kinase 2) is an important member of focal adhesion kinase family. Pyk2 is highly ex-pressed in the central nervous system and the hematopoietic sys-tem . Pyk 2 can trigger a variety of SH 2 domain-containing pro- teins to phosphorylate their substrates, thus it can participate in the regulations including ion channel activation, stress response, cell adhesion, cytoskeleton reorganization, vesicle transport and so on. Through the regulations above, the ability of cell migra-tion, survival, proliferation changes accordingly, suggesting that Pyk2 in many important regulatory processes may become a tar-get for clinical effects. Current drug development for Pyk2 main- ly focuses on cancer, osteoporosis and immune response. This review illustrates the domain structure, regulatory mechanisms, potential drug targets, and the drug development of Pyk2 based on the above three fields, which will provide a theoretical basis for clinical treatment.

Mifepristone repairs alteration of learning and memory abilities in rat model of depression / 药学学报

This study is to investigate the amelioration effect of glucocorticoid receptor (GR) antagonist mifepristone on the changes of learning and memory abilities in rat model of depression. In the present study, a 35-day rat chronic unpredictable stress (CUS) model was used to observe both depression-like behaviors with sucrose preference test and open-field test and learning and memory-associated behaviors with Morris water maze test. A total of 45 male adult Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly assigned to three groups of equal size: control group (CON); CUS group (CUS); CUS + mifepristone group (CM). Animals in CM group were first exposed to CUS for 14 days, and then were administered with 50 mg x kg(-1) x d(-1) of mifepristone with continued CUS procedure. Corticosterone EIA Kit was used to detect the concentration of plasma corticosterone (CORT). Nissl staining was used to observe the structure of hippocampus. The results demonstrated that CUS exposure induced both depressive-like and learning and memory-associated behaviors and these deficits were reversed by mifepristone. Compared to CON group, the concentration of plasma CORT increased significantly in CUS group. CUS exposure damaged the structure of hippocampus, whereas mifepristone had an amelioration effect. Together, the structural deficits of hippocampus resulting from long-term stress exposure, which could contribute to the impairment of learning and memory in depression, are reversed by the GR receptor antagonist mifepristone.

Oil of Piper longum unsaponifiable matter prevents cholesterol gallstone formation / 药学学报

To observe the effect of various doses of oil of Piper longum unsaponifiable matter (OPUM) to cholesterol gallstones in experimental mice. C57BL/6 mice (n = 60) were randomly divided into 6 groups: control group, model group, OPUM (15, 30 and 60 mg x kg(-1)) group and ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA, 60 mg x kg(-1)) group, administered for 10 weeks. The level of serum lipid and liver function enzymes were tested. The gallbladder was removed and bile was obtained by centrifugation. Next, the levels of the bile total cholesterol (TC), phospholipid (PL) and bile acid (TBA) were measured. The indicators of lipid peroxidation were determined and cholesterol saturation index (CSI) was calculated. The liver histological changes were observed by HE staining. The results showed that serum TC, TG (triglycerides) and AST (aspartate transaminase) contents, gallbladder cholesterol crystallization and CSI increased significantly (P < 0.05). In addition, the activity of SOD decreased significantly and MDA content increased significantly in liver (P < 0.05). HE staining results showed that the hepatic cord disorder and intracellular lipid droplets increased significantly. All results indicate that lithogenic diet lead to the formation of cholesterol gallstones. In OPUM (30 and 60 mg x kg(-1)) group, serum TC, TG and AST content, gallbladder cholesterol crystallization and CSI decreased significantly, the activity of SOD increased significantly and MDA content decreased significantly. HE staining results showed that OPUM can improve the morphology of liver cell, reduce the degree of hepatic cord disorders and restore the cell morphology close to normal. The cause of OPUM prevents cholesterol gallstone formation maybe due to protect the integrity of the liver cells, lower CSI, and reduce cholesterol crystal formation and hence prevent cholesterol gallstone formation.

Liposoluble constituents from Iodes cirrhosa and their neuroprotective and potassium channel-blocking activity / 中国中药杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To study the chemical constituents of Iodes cirrhosa and evaluate their bioactivity.</p><p><b>METHOD</b>The compounds were isolated and purified by various kinds of column chromatography methods and their structures were determined by spectroscopic data analysis. Neuroprotective assay against serum deprivation induced SH-SYSY-JNK3 cell apoptosis was evaluated by MTr method while potassium channel-blocking activity was assayed in both non-specific and specific K+ channel-regulator screening models.</p><p><b>RESULT</b>Twenty-one compounds were obtained from an EtOAc portion of an ethanolic extract of the root of I. cirrhosa. Their structures were elucidated as 1beta, 3beta-dihydroxyurs-9(11),12-diene(1), bauerenyl acetate(2),3beta-hydroxy-11-oxo-olean-12-enyl palmitate(3), 3beta-acetoxy-urs-12-ene-11-one(4), betulinic acid(5), stigmasta-5, 22-diene-3beta-ol(6), 7beta-hydroxystigmasterol(7), stigmasta-5, 22diene-3beta-ol3-O-beta-D-glucopyranoside(8),scopoletin(9),scopolin(10),clovamide(11),methyl 3,5-di-O-caffeoylquinate(12),3,5-dicaffeoylquinic acid(13),2,6-dimethoxy-1,4-benzoquinone(14), protocatechualdehyde(15), vanillin(16), protocatechuic acid(17), vanillic acid(18),caffeic acid(19),azelaic acid(20),and succinic acid(21). Compound 3,4,6,9,10,14,15,18 and 20 showed neuroprotective activities against serum deprivation induced SH-SYSY-JNK3 cell apoptosis at a concentration of 1.0 x 10(6) mol x L(1) with relative protection rates of 177%, 144%, 137%, 137%, 143%, 145%, 137%, 189%, 130%, respectivley. Compound 16 could increase DiBAC4(3) fluorescence response in both non-specific and specific K+ channel-regulator screening models at the concentration of 1.0 x 10(-5) mol x L(-1).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Compound 1 was a new compound and all compounds were isolated from this genus for the first time. Compounds 3,4,6,9,10,14,15,18 and 20 showed neuroprotective activities while 16 exhibited K+ channel-blocking activity.</p>

Aromatic constituents of Heteroplexis micocephal and their bioactivities / 中国中药杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the chemical constituents of Heteroplexis micocephal and their bioactivities.</p><p><b>METHOD</b>The constituents were isolated by using a combination of various chromatographic techniques including column chromatography over macroporous adsorbent resin, silica gel, Pharmadex LH-20, and C-18, as well as reversed-phase HPLC. Structures of the isolates were identified by spectroscopic data analysis. In vitro cytotoxic, HIV-1 replication, neuroprotective, and anti-inflammatory activities were screened by using cell-based models.</p><p><b>RESULT</b>Thirty-one compounds were obtained. Twelve of them are phenylpropanols, and the structures were elucidated as (+)-(7S,8R)-guaiacylglycerol (1), ferulic acid (2), cinnamate methyl ester (3), 1-eicosanyl 3,4-dihydroxycinnamate (4), morinin B (5), sinapyl diangelate (6), chlorogenic acid (7), 4-O-caffeoylquinic acid (8), 5-O-caffeoylquinic acid (9), 5-O-caffeoylquinic acid methyl ester (10), 1,5-di-O-caffeoylquinic acid (11) and 4,5-di-O-caffeoylquinic acid methyl ester (12). Three lignans, (+)-pinoresinol (13), prinsepiol (14) and (+)-pinoresinol-O-beta-D-glucopyranoside (15). Four acetophenones, 2,4-diacetylanisole (16), espeleton (17), viscidone (18) and 12-hydroxytremetone-12-O-beta-D-glucopyranoside (19). Nine flavones, isosakuranetin (20), hesperetin (21), 3-methoxy-5,7,3',4'-tetrahydroxyflavone (22), acacetin (23), 5-hydroxy-7,4'- dimethoxyflavone (24), 7-methoxy-4',5, 6-trihydroxyflavone (25), 3,3'-dimethylquercetin (26), kaempferol 3-O-rutinoside (27), rutin (28). And three coumarins scopoletin (29), umbelliferone (30) and ayapin (31). Compound 6 and 22 showed selective cytotoxicities against a human stomach cancer cell line(BGC-823) and a human lung cancer cell line (A549) with IC50 values of 3.74 x 10(-5) and 7.17 x 10(-5) mol L(-1), respectively. In addition, Compound 6 showed a potent activity inhibiting HIV-1 replication with an IC50 value of 4.04 x 10(-6) mol L(-1), while 22 showed neuroprotective activity Against the MPP+ induced PC12-syn cell damage, with a relative protection ratio of 105.2% (P < 0.01) at a concentration of 10(-5) mol L(-1). Compound 26 and 31 showed inhibitory activities against the release of beta-glucuronidase of the polymorphous nuclear leukocytes induced by platelet activating factor (PAF), with inhibitory rates of 75.6% (P < 0.001) and 53. 9% (P < 0.01), respectively.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Compounds 1-31 were obtained from the genus Heteroplexis for the first time. Compound 6 and 22 possessed selective cytotoxicities against human cancer cell lines BGC-823 and A549, respectively. In addition, Compound 6 showed a potent activity inhibiting HIV-1 replication while 22 showed neuroprotective activity against the MPP+ induced PC12-syn cell damage. Compound 26 and 31 were potent anti-inflammatory agents.</p>