Wenyang Jieyu Prescription Regulates Hippocampal Neural Plasticity in Depressed Mice via NLRP3/Caspase-1/IL-1β Pathway / 中国实验方剂学杂志

ABSTRACT

ObjectiveTo explore the effects of Wenyang Jieyu prescription （WJP） on neuroinflammation and synaptic plasticity in the mouse model of depression induced by maternal separation combined with restraint stress. MethodThe mice on postnatal day 0 （PD0） were randomized into a control group and a modeling group. Maternal separation combined with restraint stress was employed to establish the mouse model of depression. After the removal of female mice， the modeled mice were randomized into model， Wenyang prescription （5.85 g·kg-1）， Jieyu prescription （12.03 g·kg-1）， WJP （16.71 g·kg-1）， and fluoxetine （2.6 mg·kg-1） groups on the weaning day （PD21）， with 15 mice in each group. The mice were administrated with corresponding drugs mixed with the diet from PD21 to PD111. The sucrose preference test， open field test， O-maze test， and novel object recognition test were then carried out to evaluate the depression state， memory， and learning ability of the mice. Immunohistochemistry （IHC） was employed to observe the ionized calcium-binding adapter molecule-1 （Iba-1） in hippocampal microglia. High performance liquid chromatography （HPLC） was employed to measure the content of noradrenaline （NE） and epinephrine （E） in the hippocampus. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay （ELISA） was employed to determine the content of interleukin （IL）-18 and IL-1β in the hippocampus. Western blot was employed to determine the protein levels of NOD-like receptor protein 3 （NLRP3）， apoptosis-associated speck-like protein containing a CARD （ASC）， cysteine aspartate-specific protease-1 （Caspase-1）， IL-1β， synaptophysin （Syn）， and postsynaptic density 95 （PSD95）. ResultCompared with control group， the model group showed decreased sucrose preference rate， time spent in central zone within 5 min， total movement distance， time spent in the open arm， and cognition index （P<0.05， P<0.01）. The microglia in the model group presented amoeba-like appearance， the Iba1 increased. Moreover， the model group showed decreased content of NE and E （P<0.01）， elevated levels of IL-1β and IL-18 （P<0.01）， down-regulated protein levels of PSD95 and Syn （P<0.05， P<0.01）， and up-regulated protein levels of NLRP3， ASC， Caspase-1， and IL-1β （P<0.05， P<0.01）. Compared with model group， WJP and fluoxetine increased the sucrose preference rate， time spent in central zone within 5 min， total movement distance， time spent in the open arm， and cognition index （P<0.05， P<0.01）. They recovered the microglia and the Iba1 decreased. Moreover， the drugs increased the content of NE and E （P<0.05， P<0.01）， lowered the levels of IL-1β and IL-18 （P<0.01）， up-regulated the protein levels of PSD95 and Syn （P<0.01）， down-regulated the protein levels of NLRP3， ASC， Caspase-1， and IL-1β （P<0.05， P<0.01）. ConclusionWJP can treat the depressive behavior induced by maternal separation combined with restraint stress in mice， with the performance outperforming Wenyang prescription and Jieyu prescription. It may alleviate the neuroinflammation induced by microglia and improve the synaptic plasticity by regulating the NLRP3 pathway and increasing neurotransmitters in the hippocampus.