The effect of Modified Wen-Dan decoction on hippocampal astrocytes in depression model rats

Background:This study aimed to observe the effect of Modified Wen-Dan decoction on hippocampal astrocytes in depression model rats.Methods:A total of 48 rats were randomly divided into a control group,a model group,a Modified Wen-Dan decoction group(referred toas the traditional Chinese medicine group),and a fluoxetine control group(referred to as the Western medicine group).The control group was provided with a free diet and without any stimulation,while the remaining three groups were solitarily housed incombination with chronic unpredictable mild stress stimuli to replicate the depression rat model.The rats were subjected to the open-field and sucrose preference experiments for behavioral observation,and q-PCR was used to detect the mRNA of specific markers of hippocampal astrocytes,glial fibrillary acidic protein,and S100 calcium-binding proteinβ(S100β)in each group.Immunohistochemistry was used to observe the protein expression of glial fibrillary acidic protein and S100βin thehippocampus of rats of each group.Results:The behavioral results showed that,compared with the control group,the rats in the model group showed a decrease in the score of the open-field experiment and in the rate of sucrose preference(P<0.05).The score of the open-field experiment and the rate of sucrose preference was increased in the Chinese and Western medicine groups(P<0.05),compared to that of the model group.No significant difference was found between the Chinese and Western medicine groups(P>0.05).The q-PCR results showed that the mRNA and protein expression levels of GFAP and S100βwere downregulated in the model group compared to that of the control group(P<0.05).Compared with the model group,the mRNA expression levels of glial fibrillary acidic proteinand S100βwere upregulated in the traditional Chinese medicine group as well as in the Western medicine group(P<0.05).No significant difference between the Chinese and Western medicine groups was found.Conclusion:The mechanism of the antidepressant effect of Modified Wen-Dan decoction may be related to the improvement of hippocampal astrocyte dysfunction in rats.