Protective effect and mechanism of astragalus injection in cerebral ischemia reperfusion injury in rats / 解剖学报

ABSTRACT

Objective To investigate the neuroprotective effect and mechanism of astragalus injection in cerebral ischemia reperfusion injury in rats .Methods A total of 70 healthy adult male Wistar rats were subjected to establish middle cerebral artery occlusion reperfusion models by inserting a monofilament thread from the external -internal carotid artery and treated by injecting 1g/L intraperitoneally astragalus injection (3ml/kg).The neurobehavioral function of rats was evaluated by Longa ’ s test and the cerebral infarction volume was calculated by tetrazolium chloride staining .The shape and ultrastructure of neurons in parietal cortex were observed by HE stain TEM .The early apoptotic ratio of neurons was detected by flow cytometry .The expressions of c-Jun N-terminal kinase 3 ( JNK3) mRNA and protein were determined by RT-PCR and Western blotting , respectively.Results After treatment with astragalus injection , the expressions of JNK3 mRNA and protein reduced significantly , the number of neuronal apoptosis in parietal cortexminus , the cerebral infarction volume shrink, the neuronal shape and ultrastructure and animal neurobehavioral function were improved significantly than those in model group rats .Conclusion The results suggest that astragalus injection may inhibit neuronal apoptosis , reduce the infarction volume and improve the animal neurobehavioral function by down -regulated the expression of JNK 3 gene following cerebral ischemia in rats .