Korean red ginseng promotes hippocampal neurogenesis in mice

Neurogenesis in the adult hippocampus plays a major role in cognitive ability of animals including learning and memory.Korean red ginseng (KRG) has long been known as a medicinal herb with the potential to improve learning and memory;however,the mechanisms are still elusive.Therefore,we evaluated whether KRG can promote cognitive function and enhance neurogenesis in the hippocampus.Eight-week-old male C57BL/6 mice received 50 mg/kg of 5-bromo-2′-deoxyuridine (BrdU) intraperitoneally and 100 mg/kg of KRG or vehicle orally once a day for 14 days.Pole,Rotarod and Morris water maze tests were performed and the brains were collected after the last behavioral test.Changes in the numbers of BrdU- and BrdU/ doublecortin (DCX;a marker for neuronal precursor cells and immature neurons)-positive cells in the dentate gyrus and the gene expression of proliferating cell nuclear antigen (a marker for cell differentiation),cerebral dopamine neurotrophic factor and ciliary neurotrophic factor in the hippocampus were then investigated.KRG-treated mice came down the pole significantly faster and stood on the rotarod longer than vehicle-treated mice.The Morris water maze test showed that KRG administration enhanced the learning and memory abilities significantly.KRG also significantly increased BrdU- and BrdU/DCX-positive cells in the dentate gyrus as well as the proliferating cell nuclear antigen,cerebral dopamine neurotrophic factor and ciliary neurotrophic factor mRNA expression levels in the hippocampus compared to vehicle.Administration of KRG promotes learning and memory abilities,possibly by enhancing hippocampal neurogenesis.This study was approved by the Pusan National University Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (approval No.PNU-2016-1071) on January 19,2016.

Acupuncture Points for Treating Parkinson's Disease Based on Animal Studies

Parkinson＇s disease （PD） is a well-known neurodegenerative disease caused by dopaminergic cell death in the nigrostriatal pathway. Recent studies have shown that acupuncture can be a potential therapy for the treatment of PD, but it is not clear which acupuncture points （acupoints） play major roles in reliving symptoms of PD. Yanglingquan （GB 34）, Zusanli （ST 36）, Fengfu （GV 16）, Taichong （LR 3）, Baihui （GV 20） and Dazhui （GV 14） acupoints have frequently been to investigate the effectiveness and action mechanism of acupuncture for treating PD, but it is not clear why they were selected. This review summarizes the current understanding of the acupoints for PD treatment based on Oriental medicine theories and on the accumulated findings from previous animal studies. The results of this study will be useful to development of a strategy for future research in this field.

Korean red ginseng decreases 1-methyl-4-phenylpyridinium-induced mitophagy in SH-SY5Y cells

Objective:Mitophagy is known to contribute towards progression of Parkinson’s disease.Korean red ginseng(KRG)is a widely used medicinal herb in East Asia,and recent studies have reported that KRG prevents 1-methyl-4-phenylpyridinium ion(MPP^(+))-induced cell death.This study was undertaken to investigate whether KRG suppresses MPP^(+)-induced apoptosis and mitophagy.Methods:SH-SY5 Y cells were incubated with KRG for 24 h,and subsequently exposed to MPP^(+).The MPP^(+)-induced cell death was confirmed with the 3-(4,5-dimethyl-thiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide assay,and the terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated d UTP nick end-labeling assay.Changes in the structure and function of mitochondria were confirmed using mitotracker,Mito SOX red mitochondrial superoxide indicator,parkin,and phosphatase and tensin homolog deleted on chromosome ten-induced putative kinase 1(PINK1)immunofluorescent staining.Western blotting was performed to evaluate the expression of apoptosis-related factors in whole cells,including Bax,Bcl-2 and cleaved caspase-3,and mitophagy-related factors in the mitochondrial fraction,including cytochrome c,parkin,PINK1,translocase of the outer membrane 20(TOM20),p62 and Beclin 1.Results:MPP^(+)induced cell death by cytochrome c release and caspase-3 activation;however,this effect was suppressed by KRG’s regulation of the expressions of Bcl-2 and Bax.Moreover,MPP^(+)exposure increased the mitochondrial expressions of parkin,PINK1,Beclin 1 and p62,and decreased TOM20,cytochrome c and Bcl-2 expressions.These MPP^(+)-induced changes in the mitochondrial fraction were attenuated by treatment with KRG.Conclusion:KRG effectively prevents MPP^(+)-induced SH-SY5 Y cell death by regulating cytochrome c release from mitochondria and PINK1/parkin-mediated mitophagy,through regulation of the Bcl-2 family.

Changes in Small Intestinal Motility and Related Hormones by Acupuncture Stimulation at Zusanli(ST 36) in Mice

Objective： To clarify the effects of acupuncture stimulation at Zusanli（ST 36） on the hormonal changes. Methods： Eight-week-old male C57BL/6 mice received acupuncture stimulation at acupoint ST 36 or Quchi（LI 11） once a day for 3 or 5 days in the acupuncture-stimulated groups, but not received in the normal group（n=6 in each group）. On day 3 or 5, animals were given 0.1 m L of charcoal orally with a bulbed steel needle, 30 min after the last acupuncture stimulation. Ten minutes later, mice were anesthetized, and the intestinal transit and the concentrations of vasoactive intestinal peptide（VIP）, motilin, ghrelin and gastrin in the serum were measured. Results： Compared to no acupuncture stimulation, acupuncture stimulation at ST 36 for 5 days increased the intestinal transit and down-regulated the concentration of VIP and up-regulated the concentrations of motilin, ghrelin and gastrin（P〈0.05 or 0.01）, whereas acupuncture stimulation at LI 11 did not change them significantly（P〉0.05）. Conclusion： Acupuncture stimulation at ST 36 for 5 days enhances the small intestinal motility and regulates the secretion of hormones related to small intestinal motility.

Acupuncture Alters Pro-inflammatory Cytokines in the Plasma of Maternally Separated Rat Pups

Objective: To investigate the potential alleviating effects of acupuncture on maternal separation(MS)-induced changes in plasma pro-inflammatory cytokine levels of rat pups. Methods: On postnatal day 15, rat pups were randomly assigned to 4 groups(n=6 per group) using a random number table: normal, MS, MS with acupuncture stimulation at Shenmen(HT 7) acupoint(MS+HT 7), and MS with acupuncture stimulation at Chengshan(BL 57) acupoint(MS+BL 57) groups. Rat pups in the normal group were housed with their mothers under standard conditions; those in the MS, MS+HT 7 and MS+BL 57 groups were maternally separated and individually maintained. Acupuncture stimulation was performed at HT 7 or BL 57 acupoints once a day for 7 consecutive days. A tail suspension test was performed to measure immobility time of rats and the plasma was collected on postnatal day 21, then levels of corticosterone(CORT), interleukin(IL)-1β, IL-6 and glial cell-derived neurotrophic factor(GDNF) in plasma were measured. Results: Compared with the normal group, the immobility time and the plasma levels of CORT, IL-1β, IL-6 and GDNF in the MS group were significantly increased(P<0.05 or P<0.01). Compared with the MS group, the immobility time and the plasma levels of CORT, IL-1β, IL-6 and GDNF were significantly reduced in the MS+HT 7 group(P<0.05 or P<0.01). Moreover, the immobility time and plasma levels of IL-1β and IL-6 in the MS+HT 7 group were significantly lower than those in the MS+BL 57 group(P<0.05). Conclusion: Acupuncture stimulation at HT 7 can alleviate the behavioral impairment and changes of the cytokines by MS, indicating that acupuncture can help to relieve MS-induced depression.