Ginsenoside Rg1 protects against ischemia-induced neuron damage by regulating the rno-miRNA-27a-3p/PPARγaxis

A preliminary miRNA screening showed that expression levels of rno-miRNA-27a-3p were significantly increased in the serum and brain tissues of rats undergoing cerebral ischemia.In recent years,there is evidence of the protective capacity of the saponins extracted from panax ginseng and its primary active ingredient ginsenosideRg1oncerebral ischemic injury.Methods:Fetal rat neurons(FRNs)were cultured in glucose-and-serumfree medium and exposed to hypoxia to establish a cerebral ischemia model in vitro(oxygen and glucose deprivation model,OGD).Antioxidant indexes(CAT,SOD),inflammatory markers(MPO,TNF-αand IL-6),and the expression of apoptosis and proliferation associated proteins(NF kB-p65,Caspase 3-cleaved,BCL-2)were examined.Results:Pre-treatment of Rg1(30–100μg/mL)could effectively inhibit the decline of antioxidant indexes(CAT,SOD)and increase in inflammatory markers(MPO,TNF-αand IL-6),and effectively inhibited the apoptosis in FRNs induced by OGD in a gradient-dependent manner.The mechanism analysis showed that the role of Rg1 in protecting against ischemia-induced neuron damage depends on its indirect up-regulation of PPAR protein via suppression of rnomiRNA-27a-3p.Moreover,these effects of Rg1 could be reversed by exogenous rno-miRNA-27a-3p and PPAR gene silencing in FRNs exposed to OGD.Conclusion:To summarize,our study demonstrates that Rg1 could effectively attenuate neuronal damage caused by cerebral ischemia via the rno-miRNA-27a-3p/PPARγpathway.Further,clarification of the novel mechanism will certainly improve our previous understanding of the role of Rg1 and enhancing its level in treatments for alleviating ischemic brain injury.

Expression profiles of microRNAs after focal cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury in rats

Rat models of focal cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury were established by occlusion of the middle cerebral artery. Microarray analysis showed that 24 hours after cerebral ischemia, there were nine up-regulated and 27 down-regulated microRNA genes in cortical tissue. Bioinformatic analysis showed that bcl-2 was the target gene of microRNA-384-5p and microRNA-494, and caspase-3 was the target gene of microRNA-129, microRNA-320 and microRNA-326. Real-time PCR and western blot analyses showed that 24 hours after cerebral ischemia, bcl-2 mRNA and protein levels in brain tissue were significantly decreased, while caspase-3 mRNA and protein levels were significantly increased. This suggests that following cerebral ischemia, differentially expressed microRNA-384-5p, microRNA-494, microRNA-320, microRNA-129 and microRNA-326 can regulate bcl-2 and caspase-3 expression in brain tissue.

Influence of Panax quinquefolium saponins on increased intracellular Ca^(2+) in PC12 cells

BACKGROUND： Previous studies have demonstrated that intracellular Ca^2＋ （[Ca^2＋]） overload, excitotoxicity, free radical injury, and nitric oxide toxicity are involved in mechanisms of neuronal death in the ischemic brain. OBJECTIVE： To investigate the influence of Panax quinquefo/ium saponins （PQS） on multiple factors-induced Ca^2＋ overload in the rat pheochromocytoma （PC12） cell line. DESIGN, TIME AND SETTING： Intergroup comparison, in vitro study. The experiment was performed at the Heilongjiang Key Laboratory of Anti-fibrosis Biotherapy, Mudanjiang Medical University between November 2007 and April 2008. MATERIALS- In vitro cultured PC12 cells in the logarithmic phase were assigned into blank control, model, and drug treatment groups （10 μmol/L nimodipine; 40 μg/L, 100 μg/L, and 250 μg/L PQS）. Nimodipine was purchased from Jiangsu Yangtze River Pharmacy Group Co., China; PQS （purity 〉 95%, HLPC grade） was provided by School of Basic Medical Sciences, Jilin University. Caffeine, Na2S2O4, L-glutamic acid （Glu）, Fura-2/AM, and calcium ionophore A23187 were purchased from Sigma, USA. METHODS： PC12 cells in the model and drug treatment groups were separately incubated in glucose-free Hank＇s buffered saline solution ＋ Na2S2O4 （2 mmol/L） for 6 hours, Glu （200 μmot/L） plus A23187 （0.05 μmol/L） for 6 hours, KCI （50 mmol/L） for 1 hour, and caffeine （5 mmol/L） for 3 hours to establish models of intracellular Ca^2＋ overload induced by oxygen and glucose deprivation, Glu, A23187, high K＋, or caffeine. In addition, control cells were incubated in high-glucose DMEM culture medium. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES： [Ca^2＋]i changes in PC12 cells exposed to oxygen-glucose deprivation, Glu, A23187, high K^＋, or caffeine were detected using spectrofluorometer. RESULTS： PQS blocked the [Ca^2＋]i increase induced by oxygen-glucose deprivation, Glu, A23187, high K＋, or caffeine. In particular, high-dose PQS was most effective （P 〈 0.01）. PQS significantly inhibited Glu- or caffeine-induced [Ca^2＋]i increases in the absence of extracellular Ca^2＋, but nimodipine did not. CONCLUSION： PQS blocked intracellular Ca^2＋ overload induced by oxygen-glucose deprivation, Glu, A23187, high K^＋, or caffeine. This mechanism might be involved in the attenuation of neuronal apoptosis following ischemic brain injury.