title: Protective effects of baicalin on oxygen/glucose deprivation- and NMDA-induced injuries in rat hippocampal slices.
abstract: Baicalin is a flavonoid derivative from Scutellaria baicalensis Georgi with various pharmacological effects. Recently, the neuroprotective effect of baicalin was reported. To confirm this effect and explore the possible mechanism, we have investigated the protective effect of baicalin on ischaemiclike or excitotoxic injury and the activation of protein kinase C alpha (PKC(alpha)) in rat hippocampal slices. In-vitro ischaemic-like injury was induced by oxygen/glucose deprivation (OGD) and the excitotoxic injury by N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA). The viability and swelling of the slices were detected by triphenyltetrazolium chloride (TTC) staining and image analysis of light transmittance (LT), respectively. The translocation of PKC(alpha) was measured by immunoblotting. Baicalin was added during both injuries. Baicalin (0.1, 1, and 10 micromol L(-1)) concentration-dependently inhibited OGD-induced viability reduction and acute neuron swelling, and inhibited the increased portion of PKC(alpha) present in the membrane fraction over the total PKC(alpha). Baicalin ameliorated NMDA-induced viability reduction (not LT elevation) and inhibited the NMDA-increased membrane portion of PKC(alpha) at 1 micromol L(-1). We concluded that baicalin had a protective effect on ischaemic-like or excitotoxic injury in rat hippocampal slices, which might have been partly related to inhibition of PKC(alpha) translocation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, 353, Yan An Road, Hangzhou 310031, P. R. of China.
authors.forename: Lu-Ying
authors.initials: LY
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Er-Qing
authors.initials: EQ
authors.lastname: Wei
authors.forename: Yan-Min
authors.initials: YM
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.forename: Fang-Xue
authors.initials: FX
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Meng-Ling
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Wei-Ping
authors.initials: WP
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Zhong
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Chen
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D015687:Cell Hypoxia; D048429:Cell Size / Q000187:drug effects; D002470:Cell Survival / Q000187:drug effects; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D005419:Flavonoids / Q000494:pharmacology*; D005947:Glucose / Q000172:deficiency; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D066298:In Vitro Techniques; D008297:Male; D016202:N-Methylaspartate; D009474:Neurons / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D018696:Neuroprotective Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley
chemical_list: D005419:Flavonoids; D018696:Neuroprotective Agents; C038044:baicalin; D016202:N-Methylaspartate; D005947:Glucose