ABSTRACT
Ischemia-reperfusion injury is the tissue damage happened when blood supply returns to the tissue after a period of ischemia or shortage of oxygen. This brain injury initiates an inflammatory response involving the expression of adhesion molecules and cytokines. The aim of this study is investigating the effect of hydroalcoholic extract of Cyperus rotundus L. on the expression of the Bcl-x1 antiapoptotic gene in rats' hippocampus tissue following global ischemic-reperfusion injury. In the present study, attempts were made to investigate the effect of hydroalcoholic extract of Cyprus rotundus L. on the expression of the Bcl-x1 antiapoptotic gene in rats' hippocampus tissue following global ischemic-reperfusion. To this end, eighteen male Wistar rats (250-300 g body wt) were used in this study. The animals were divided into three classes, each including 6 rats, I: Control class without ischemia-reperfusion, II: Ischemia-reperfusion class that was subjected to all surgical procedures, III: extract injection class that received Cyperus rotundus L. after ischemia. Seventy two hours after ischemia-reperfusion, the hippocampus was derived for studying the changes in bcl-xl gene expression. Q real-time PCR was employed for the detection of bcl-xl gene expression in ischemia and extract groups, and then their results were compared with normal samples. The results showed the generations of 0.6233, 0.23, and 0.9933 for control, ischemia, and ischemic extract groups, respectively. Moreover, it was found that the bcl-xl gene expression declined in ischemia group as compared to the extract group. A significant difference in the bcl-xl gene expression was observed in ischemia group when compared with the groups which had both injection and ischemia. These findings are consistent with anti-apoptotic properties of the bcl-xl gene. It can be concluded that this method creates a powerful tool for the investigators to study brain ischemia and the responses to the treatment which are caused by the injection of Cyprus rotundus L.
Subject(s)
Brain Ischemia/drug therapy , Cyperus/drug effects , Reperfusion Injury/drug therapy , bcl-X Protein/genetics , Animals , Apoptosis/drug effects , Gene Expression , Hippocampus/metabolism , Male , Rats , Rats, WistarABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: The hippocampus is a tiny nub in the mammalian brain that is involved in forming, organizing, and storing memories. Global cerebral ischemia (GCI) and reperfusion induced apoptosis lead to cell injury and death. FK-506 is a strong immunosuppressant drug that has neuroprotective effects on the hypoxic-ischemic effects of brain damage. BAD and Bcl-xL are pro-apoptotic and anti-apoptotic genes, respectively. These genes belong to The B-cell lymphoma-2 (Bcl-2) family. OBJECTIVES: In this study, we assessed the neurotrophic properties of FK-506 on expression of the BAD and Bcl-xL genes in the hippocampus following global ischemia and reperfusion. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In the present experimental study, adult male Wistar rats were obtained and housed under standard conditions in the Tehran University of Medical Science in Iran. Rats were equally distributed in groups of three among the following groups: normal control, treated-1 (ischemia/reperfusion), and treated-2 (ischemia/reperfusion followed by FK-506). Global ischemia was induced for animals in the treated-1 and treated-2 groups. In treated-2, two doses of FK-506 were injected: one dose as an IV injection immediately after reperfusion and another as an intra-peritoneal (IP) injection after 48 hours. Then, the hippocampus tissue was removed after anaesthetizing the rats. RNA was isolated, cDNA was synthesized, and real-time PCR was performed. Finally, the obtained data were analyzed statistically (P value Ë 0.05). RESULTS: The quantitative results of real-time PCR show that the mRNA expression ratio of Bcl-xL down-regulated was 0.75 ± 0.06 in the ischemia/reperfusion group versus 1.57 ± 0.09 in the control group (P value < 0.001), whereas Bcl-xL gene expression was greater in the ischemia/reperfusion +FK506 group (1.93 ± 0.15) than in the ischemia/reperfusion group. Moreover, the mRNA expression ratio of BAD up-regulated in the ischemia/reperfusion + FK506 group was 3.65 ± 0.49 compared to Normal control (1.39 ± 0.09) and Ischemia/reperfusion + FK506 was 1.09 ± 0.20 (P value < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: The analysis of the pro-apoptotic gene to anti-apoptotic gene expression ratio (BAD /Bcl-xL) confirmed that expression of the pro-apoptotic gene significantly decreased (P value Ë 0.001) under the ischemia/reperfusion condition. In contrast, the expression of the anti-apoptotic gene increased after administration of FK-506 (P value Ë 0.001).
ABSTRACT
In order to investigate the protective effects of the overexpression of bcl-xl gene on local cerebral infarction in the transgenic mice subject to permanent occlusion of middle cerebral artery, the models of bcl-xl transgenic mice were established and subjected to cerebral infarction by intralu- minal occlusion of the middle cerebral artery. The infarct volume and the neurological scores were observed and comparison between the wild type mice and the transgenic mice was made. It was found that the infarct volume and the neurological scores in the transgenic mice were significantly decreased as compared with those in the wild type mice. It was suggested that the overexpression of bcl-xl gene in transgenic mice could reduce the infarct volume and improve the neurological function of the mice.
ABSTRACT
Objective To study the expression level and clinical significance of bcl-XL gene in childhood medulloblastoma.Methods The expression of Bcl-XL protein and bcl-XL mRNA were determined by immunohistochemical staining and in situ hybridization in 41 samples of medulloblastoma tissues,as well as 20 normal brain tissues.Results The positive rate of Bcl-XL protein(90.2%) and bclXL mRNA(95.1%) in medulloblastoma group were significantly higher than those in normal human brain tissues(all P
