Tongluojiunao (TLJN) is an herbal medicine consisting of two main components, geniposide and ginsenoside Rg1. TLJN has been shown to protect primary cultured hippocampal neurons. How-ever, its mechanism of action remains unclear. In the present study, primary cultured hippocampal neurons treated with Aβ1-42 (10 μmol/L) signiifcantly increased the release of lactate dehydroge-nase, which was markedly reduced by TLJN (2 μL/mL), speciifcally by the component geniposide (26 μmol/L), but not ginsenoside Rg1 (2.5 μmol/L). hTe estrogen receptor inhibitor, ICI182780 (1 μmol/L), did not block TLJN-or geniposide-mediated decrease of lactate dehydrogenase under Aβ1-42-exposed conditions. However, the phosphatidyl inositol 3-kinase or mitogen-activated protein kinase pathway inhibitor, LY294002 (50 μmol/L) or U0126 (10 μmol/L), respectively blo cked the decrease of lactate dehydrogenase mediated by TLJN or geniposide. hTerefore, these results suggest that the non-classical estrogen pathway (i.e., phosphatidyl inositol 3-kinase or mitogen-activated protein kinase) is involved in the neuroprotective effect of TLJN, speciifcally its component, geniposide, against Aβ1-42-mediated cell death in primary cultured hippocampal neurons.

Our previous studies have revealed that amyloidβ(Aβ)-binding alcohol dehydrogenase (ABAD) decoy peptide antagonizes Aβ42-induced neurotoxicity. However, whether it improves oxidative stress injury remains unclear. In this study, a recombinant adenovirus constitutively secreting and expressing Aβ-ABAD decoy peptide (rAAV/ABAD-DP-6His) was successfully constructed. Our results showed that rAAV/ABAD-DP-6His increased superoxide dismutase activity in hydro-gen peroxide-induced oxidative stress-mediated injury of PC12 cells. Moreover, rAAV/ABAD-DP-6His decreased malondialdehyde content, intracellular Ca2+concentration, and the level of reactive oxygen species. rAAV/ABAD-DP-6His maintained the stability of the mitochondrial membrane potential. In addition, the ATP level remained constant, and apoptosis was reduced. Overall, the results indicate that rAAV/ABAD-DP-6His generates the fusion peptide, Aβ-ABAD decoy peptide, which effectively protects PC12 cells from oxidative stress injury induced by hy-drogen peroxide, thus exerting neuroprotective effects.

Apolipoprotein E plays a crucial role in inhibiting chronic neurodegenerative processes. Howev-er, its impact on neurological function following diffuse brain injury is still unclear. This study was designed to evaluate the therapeutic effects and mechanisms of action of apolipoprotein E mimetic peptide on diffuse brain injury. Apolipoprotein E mimetic peptide was administered into the caudal vein of rats with diffuse brain injury before and after injury. We found that apo-lipoprotein E mimetic peptide signiifcantly decreased the number of apoptotic neurons, reduced extracellular signal-regulated kinase1/2 phosphorylation, down-regulated Bax and cytochrome c expression, decreased malondialdehyde content, and increased superoxide dismutase activity in a dose-dependent manner. These experimental ifndings demonstrate that apolipoprotein E mimetic peptide improves learning and memory function and protects against diffuse brain injury-induced apoptosis by inhibiting the extracellular signal-regulated kinase1/2-Bax mito-chondrial apoptotic pathway.

Shuganjieyu capsule has been approved for clinical treatment by the State Food and Drug Ad-ministration of China since 2008. In the clinic, Shuganjieyu capsule is often used to treat mild to moderate depression. In the rat model of depression established in this study, Shuganjieyu capsule was administered intragastrically daily before stress. Behavioral results conifrmed that depressive symptoms lessened after treatment with high-dose (150 mg/kg) Shuganjieyu capsule. Immunohistochemistry results showed that high-dose Shuganjieyu capsule signiifcantly increased phosphorylation levels of phosphorylation cyclic adenosine monophosphate response element binding protein and brain-derived neurotrophic factor expression in the medial prefrontal cortex and hippocampal CA3 area. Overall, our results suggest that in rats, Shuganjieyu capsule effec-tively reverses depressive-like behaviors by increasing expression levels of neurotrophic factors in the brain.

In a previous study, heat shock protein 27 was persistently upregulated in ventral motor neurons following nerve root avulsion or crush. Here, we examined whether the upregulation of heat shock protein 27 would increase the survival rate of motor neurons. Rats were divided into two groups:an avulsion-only group (avulsion of the L4 lumbar nerve root only) and a crush-avulsion group (the L4 lumbar nerve root was crushed 1 week prior to the avulsion). Immunofluores-cent staining revealed that the survival rate of motor neurons was significantly greater in the crush-avulsion group than in the avulsion-only group, and this difference remained for at least 5 weeks after avulsion. The higher neuronal survival rate may be explained by the upregulation of heat shock protein 27 expression in motor neurons in the crush-avulsion group. Further-more, preconditioning crush greatly attenuated the expression of nitric oxide synthase in the motor neurons. Our ifndings indicate that the neuroprotective action of preconditioning crush is mediated through the upregulation of heat shock protein 27 expression and the attenuation of neuronal nitric oxide synthase upregulation following avulsion.

Inlfammation may play a role in postoperative cognitive dysfunction. 5′ Adenosine monophos-phate-activated protein kinase, nuclear factor-kappa B, interleukin-1β, and tumor necrosis factor-αare involved in inlfammation. Therefore, these inlfammatory mediators may be involved in postoperative cognitive dysfunction. Western immunoblot analysis revealed 5′adenosine mo-nophosphate-activated protein kinase and nuclear factor-kappa B in the hippocampus of aged rats were increased 1-7 days after splenectomy. Moreover, interleukin-1βand tumor necrosis fac-tor-αwere upregulated and gradually decreased. Therefore, these inlfammatory mediators may participate in the splenectomy model of postoperative cognitive dysfunction in aged rats.

Previous studies show that transient axonal glycoprotein-1, a ligand of amyloid precursor pro-tein, increases the secretion of amyloid precursor protein intracellular domain and is involved in apoptosis in Alzheimer’s disease. In this study, we examined the effects of transient axonal glyco-protein-1 on U251 glioma cells. 3-(4,5-Dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide assay showed that transient axonal glycoprotein-1 did not inhibit the proliferation of U251 cells, but promoted cell viability. The terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick end labeling assay showed that transient axonal glycoprotein-1 did not induce U251 cell apoptosis. Real-time PCR revealed that transient axonal glycoprotein-1 substantially upregulated levels of amyloid precursor protein intracellular C-terminal domain, and p53 and epidermal growth factor recep-tor mRNA expression. Thus, transient axonal glycoprotein-1 increased apoptosis-related gene expression in U251 cells without inducing apoptosis. Instead, transient axonal glycoprotein-1 promoted the proliferation of these glioma cells.

3β-Hydroxysteroid-Δ24 reductase (DHCR24) is a multifunctional enzyme that localizes to the endoplasmic reticulum and has neuroprotective and cholesterol-synthesizing activities. DHCR24 overexpression confers neuroprotection against apoptosis caused by amyloidβdeposition. hTe present study aimed to construct two recombinant adenoviruses driving DHCR24 expression specifically in neurons. Two SYN1 promoter DNA fragments were obtained from human (h) and rat (r). Recombinant Ad-r(h)SYN1-DHCR24 was transfected into AD-293, N2A (mouse neuroblastoma), and MIN6 (mouse pancreatic carcinoma) cells. Western blot analysis showed DHCR24 was specially expressed in 293 and N2A cells, but no speciifc band was found in MIN6 cells. hTis demonstrates that the recombinant adenoviruses successfully express DHCR24, and no expression is observed in non-neuronal cells. TUNEL assay results showed apoptosis was inhibited in adenovirus-transfected neurons. Detecting reactive oxygen species by immunolfu-orescence, we found that adenovirus transfection inhibits apoptosis through scavenging excess reactive oxygen species. Our ifndings show that the recombinant DHCR24 adenoviruses induce neuron-specific DHCR24 expression, and thereby lay the foundation for further studies on DHCR24 gene therapy for Alzheimer’s disease.

Oligodendrocyte lineage gene 1 plays a key role in hypoxic-ischemic brain damage and myelin repair. miRNA-9 is involved in the occurrence of many related neurological disorders. Bioin-formatics analysis demonstrated that miRNA-9 complementarily, but incompletely, bound oligodendrocyte lineage gene 1, but whether miRNA-9 regulates oligodendrocyte lineage gene 1 remains poorly understood. Whole brain slices of 3-day-old Sprague-Dawley rats were cultured and divided into four groups:control group;oxygen-glucose deprivation group (treatment with 8% O2+ 92%N2 and sugar-free medium for 60 minutes);transfection control group (after oxygen and glucose deprivation for 60 minutes, transfected with control plasmid) and miRNA-9 transfection group (after oxygen and glucose deprivation for 60 minutes, transfected with miRNA-9 plasmid). From the third day of transfection, and with increasing culture days, oligodendrocyte lineage gene 1 expression increased in each group, peaked at 14 days, and then decreased at 21 days. Real-time quantitative PCR results, however, demonstrated that oligoden-drocyte lineage gene 1 expression was lower in the miRNA-9 transfection group than that in the transfection control group at 1, 3, 7, 14, 21 and 28 days after transfection. Results suggested that miRNA-9 possibly negatively regulated oligodendrocyte lineage gene 1 in brain tissues during hypoxic-ischemic brain damage.

Previous studies show that chronic acrylamide exposure leads to central and peripheral neu-ropathy. However, the underlying mechanisms remained unclear. In this study, we examined the permeability of the blood-cerebrospinal lfuid barrier, and its ability to secrete transthyretin and transport leptin of rats exposed to acrylamide for 7, 14, 21 or 28 days. Transthyretin levels in cerebrospinal lfuid began to decline on day 7 after acrylamide exposure. The sodium lfuorescein level in cerebrospinal lfuid was increased on day 14 after exposure. Evans blue concentration in cerebrospinal lfuid was increased and the cerebrospinal lfuid/serum leptin ratio was decreased on days 21 and 28 after exposure. In comparison, the cerebrospinal lfuid/serum albumin ratio was increased on day 28 after exposure. Our ifndings show that acrylamide exposure damages the blood-cerebrospinal lfuid barrier and impairs secretory and transport functions. These changes may underlie acrylamide-induced neurotoxicity.

Temporal lobe epilepsy is associated with astrogliosis. Notch1 signaling can induce astrogliosis in glioma. However, it remains unknown whether Notch1 signaling is involved in the pathogenesis of epilepsy. This study investigated the presence of Notch1, hairy and enhancer of split-1, and glial fibrillary acidic protein in the temporal neocortex and hippocampus of lithium-pilocar-pine-treated rats. The presence of Notch1 and hairy and enhancer of split-1 was also explored in brain tissues of patients with intractable temporal lobe epilepsy. Quantitative electroencephalo-gram analysis and behavioral observations were used as auxiliary measures. Results revealed that the presence of Notch1, hairy and enhancer of split-1, and glial ifbrillary acidic protein were en-hanced in status epilepticus and vehicle-treated spontaneous recurrent seizures rats, but remain unchanged in the following groups:control, absence of either status epilepticus or spontaneous recurrent seizures, and zileuton-treated spontaneous recurrent seizures. Compared with patient control cases, the presences of Notch1 and hairy and enhancer of split-1 were upregulated in the temporal neocortex of patients with intractable temporal lobe epilepsy. Therefore, these results suggest that Notch1 signaling may play an important role in the onset of temporal lobe epilepsy via astrogliosis. Furthermore, zileuton may be a potential therapeutic strategy for temporal lobe epilepsy by blocking Notch1 signaling.

Here, we administered repeated-pulse transcranial magnetic stimulation to healthy people at the left Guangming (GB37) and a mock point, and calculated the sample entropy of electroencephalo-gram signals using nonlinear dynamics. Additionally, we compared electroencephalogram sample entropy of signals in response to visual stimulation before, during, and after repeated-pulse tran-scranial magnetic stimulation at the Guangming. Results showed that electroencephalogram sample entropy at left (F3) and right (FP2) frontal electrodes were significantly different depending on where the magnetic stimulation was administered. Additionally, compared with the mock point, electroencephalogram sample entropy was higher after stimulating the Guangming point. When visual stimulation at Guangming was given before repeated-pulse transcranial magnetic stimula-tion, signiifcant differences in sample entropy were found at ifve electrodes (C3, Cz, C4, P3, T8) in parietal cortex, the central gyrus, and the right temporal region compared with when it was given after repeated-pulse transcranial magnetic stimulation, indicating that repeated-pulse transcranial magnetic stimulation at Guangming can affect visual function. Analysis of electroencephalogram revealed that when visual stimulation preceded repeated pulse transcranial magnetic stimulation, sample entropy values were higher at the C3, C4, and P3 electrodes and lower at the Cz and T8 electrodes than visual stimulation followed preceded repeated pulse transcranial magnetic stimula-tion. The ifndings indicate that repeated-pulse transcranial magnetic stimulation at the Guangming evokes different patterns of electroencephalogram signals than repeated-pulse transcranial mag-netic stimulation at other nearby points on the body surface, and that repeated-pulse transcranial magnetic stimulation at the Guangming is associated with changes in the complexity of visually evoked electroencephalogram signals in parietal regions, central gyrus, and temporal regions.