ABSTRACT
Oxidative stress is one of the major mechanisms implicated in endotoxin-induced acute lung injury. Seabuckthorn paste (SP), a traditional Tibetan medicine with high content of polyphenols and remarkable antioxidant activity, is commonly used in treating pulmonary diseases. In the present study, the protective effects and possible underlying mechanisms of SP on lipopolysaccharide- (LPS-) induced acute lung injury in mice were investigated. It was found that body weight loss, lung tissue microstructure lesions, transvascular leakage increase, malondialdehyde augmentation, and the reduction of superoxide dismutase and glutathione peroxidase levels caused by LPS challenge were all consistently relieved by SP treatment in a dose-dependent manner. Moreover, accumulation of nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) in lung nuclei caused by SP treatment was observed. Our study demonstrated that SP can provide significant protection against LPS-induced acute lung injury through maintaining redox homeostasis, and its mechanism involves Nrf2 nuclear translocation and activation.
Subject(s)
Acute Lung Injury/drug therapy , Hippophae/drug effects , Lipopolysaccharides/adverse effects , Acute Lung Injury/pathology , Animals , Humans , Male , Mice , Oxidative Stress , Signal TransductionABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Hippophae rhamnoides L. (HL) exerts antioxidant activities against various oxidative stress conditions. In this study, we investigated effects of extract from HL leaves (HLE) on cell proliferation and neuroblast differentiation in the subgranular zone (SGZ) of the dentate gyrus (DG) of aged gerbils. METHODS: Aged gerbils (24 months) were divided into vehicle (saline)-treated- and HLE-treated-groups. The vehicle and HLE were orally administered with 200 mg/kg once a day for 20 days before sacrifice. Cell proliferation and neuroblast differentiation were examined in the DG using Ki67 and doublecortin (DCX), respectively. We also observed changes in immunoreactivities of superoxide dismutase 1 (SOD1) and superoxide dismutase 2 (SOD2), brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), and phospho-glycogen synthase kinase-3-beta (p-GSK-3ß) to examine their relation with neurogenesis using immunohistochemistry. RESULTS: The administration of HLE significantly increased the number of Ki67-positive cells and DCX-positive neuroblasts with well-developed processes in the SGZ of the DG of the HLE-treated-group. In addition, immunoreactivities of SOD1, SOD2, BDNF, and p-GSK-3ß were significantly increased in granule and polymorphic cells of the DG in the HLE-treated-group compared with those in the vehicle-treated-group. CONCLUSIONS: HLE treatment significantly increased cell proliferation and neuroblast differentiation, showing that immunoreactivities of SOD1, SOD2, BDNF, and p-GSK-3ß were significantly increased in the DG. These indicate that increased neuroblast differentiation neurogenesis may be closely related to upregulation of SOD1, SOD2, BDNF, and p-GSK-3ß in aged gerbils.
Subject(s)
Dentate Gyrus/drug effects , Dentate Gyrus/metabolism , Hippophae/drug effects , Hippophae/metabolism , Intrinsic Factor/metabolism , Animals , Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor/metabolism , Cell Differentiation/drug effects , Cell Proliferation/drug effects , Gerbillinae , Glycogen Synthase Kinase 3/metabolism , Glycogen Synthase Kinase 3 beta , Immunohistochemistry , Male , Neurogenesis/drug effects , Superoxide Dismutase/metabolism , Superoxide Dismutase-1ABSTRACT
Sea buckthorn (Hippophae rhamnoides L.) is naturally distributed from Asia to Europe. It has been widely planted as an ornamental shrub and is rich in nutritional and medicinal compounds. Fungal pathogens that cause diseases such as dried-shrink disease are threats to the production of this plant. In this study, we isolated the dried-shrink disease pathogen from bark and total chitinase protein from leaves of infected plants. The results of the Oxford Cup experiment suggested that chitinase protein inhibited the growth of this pathogen. To improve pathogen resistance, we cloned chitinase Class I and III genes in H. rhamnoides, designated Hrchi1 and Hrchi3. The full-length cDNA of the open reading frame region of Hrchi1 contained 903 bp encoding 300 amino acids and Hrchi3 contained 894 bp encoding 297 amino acids. Active domain analysis, protein types, and secondary and 3D structures were predicted using online software.
