Effect of Tremella fuciformis on the neurite outgrowth of PC12h cells and the improvement of memory in rats.
We investigated the neuritogenic effects of Tremella fuciformis (TF), which has been valued in traditional Chinese medicine as a remedy with nutritive and tonic actions, on PC12h cells. The cognitive improving effects of TF on scopolamine-induced (2 mg/kg, s.c.) amnesia in rats were also evaluated with using the Morris water maze task and by performing choline acetyltransferase (ChAT) immunohistochemistry. The water extract of TF (0.01-1 microg/ml) promoted neurite outgrowth of the PC12h cells in a dose dependent manner. TF was highly efficient at the concentration range of 0.1-1 microg/ml. Oral daily treatment with TF (100 or 400 mg/kg) for 14 consecutive days significantly reversed the scopolamine-induced deficit in learning and memory, and it alleviated decrease in cholinergic immunoreactivity induced by scopolamine in the medial septum and hippocampus. The results demonstrate that the promotion of neuritogenesis in neuronal culture cells by TF water extract is related with its activity for improving the performance of rats on a spatial learning and memory task. Moreover, the impairments of spatial learning and memory may be attributable to the decrease in activation of the septohippocampal cholinergic system and that TF ameliorated learning and memory deficits partly through its increasing the central cholinergic activity. Therefore, TF could represent a potentially useful agent that is able to improve the function of impaired cognitive processes.
Kim
Ji Hyun
JH
Department of Integrative Medicine, Immunology and Cell Biology Core Lab, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Korea.
Ha
Hyo-Cheol
HC
Lee
Min-Sook
MS
Kang
Jung-Il
JI
Kim
Hyun-Su
HS
Lee
Sang-Yun
SY
Pyun
Kwang-Ho
KH
Shim
Insop
I
D000818:Animals; D001487:Basidiomycota / Q000737:chemistry*; D002795:Choline O-Acetyltransferase / Q000032:analysis; D016895:Culture Media, Serum-Free; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D004357:Drug Synergism; D004365:Drugs, Chinese Herbal / Q000494:pharmacology*; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008297:Male; D018782:Maze Learning / Q000187:drug effects; D008568:Memory / Q000187:drug effects*; D018727:Muscarinic Antagonists / Q000494:pharmacology; D016501:Neurites / Q000187:drug effects*; D016716:PC12 Cells; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000494:pharmacology*; D011897:Random Allocation; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D012601:Scopolamine / Q000494:pharmacology; D014867:Water / Q000737:chemistry
D016895:Culture Media, Serum-Free; D004365:Drugs, Chinese Herbal; D018727:Muscarinic Antagonists; D010936:Plant Extracts; D014867:Water; D012601:Scopolamine; D002795:Choline O-Acetyltransferase