Inactivation of GABA(A) receptor reduces ginsenoside Rb3 neuroprotection in mouse hippocampal slices after oxygen-glucose deprivation.
OBJECTIVE
To investigate the effect of ginsenoside Rb(3) on synaptic transmission after oxygen-glucose deprivation in vitro.


METHODS
The population spike (PS) was recorded in the stratum pyramidale of mouse hippocampal slices using extracellular recordings.


RESULTS
Ginsenoside Rb(3) depressed the basal synaptic transmission, which also promoted the recovery amplitude of PS after OGD in a concentration-dependent manner. The GABA(A) receptor agonist muscimol improved the recovery, which was similar to that of ginsenoside Rb(3). Moreover, the effect of ginsenoside Rb(3) in combination with muscimol was not additive. Treatment with the GABA(A) receptor antagonist bicuculline or picrotoxin, which prevented the depression of PS caused by ginsenoside Rb(3), also reduced the neuroprotection.


CONCLUSIONS
The results indicate that the activation of the GABA(A) receptor is correlated with the neuroprotective mechanisms of ginsenoside Rb(3).
Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Anesthesiology, Xuzhou Medical College, 99 Huaihai West Road, Xuzhou 221002, China. shan jiang@yahoo.cn
Shan
S
Jiang
Bei
B
Miao
Xuejun
X
Song
Zhenglin
Z
Jiang
D000818:Animals; D001640:Bicuculline / Q000494:pharmacology; D002681:China; D020834:Ethnopharmacology; D058785:GABA-A Receptor Agonists / Q000494:pharmacology; D058787:GABA-A Receptor Antagonists / Q000494:pharmacology*; D036145:Ginsenosides / Q000494:pharmacology*; D005947:Glucose / Q000378:metabolism; D051597:Hippocalcin / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology*; D000860:Hypoxia / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000503:physiopathology; D066298:In Vitro Techniques; D008297:Male; D008516:Medicine, Chinese Traditional; D051379:Mice; D018696:Neuroprotective Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D005894:Panax / Q000737:chemistry; D010852:Picrotoxin / Q000494:pharmacology; D010946:Plants, Medicinal / Q000737:chemistry; D009435:Synaptic Transmission / Q000187:drug effects
D001640:Bicuculline; D058785:GABA-A Receptor Agonists; D058787:GABA-A Receptor Antagonists; D036145:Ginsenosides; D005947:Glucose; D051597:Hippocalcin; D018696:Neuroprotective Agents; D010852:Picrotoxin; C044463:ginsenoside Rb3