Protective effects and potential mechanisms of Pien Tze Huang on cerebral chronic ischemia and hypertensive stroke.
BACKGROUND
Stroke caused by brain ischemia is the third leading cause of adult disability. Active prevention and early treatment of stroke targeting the causes and risk factors may decrease its incidence, mortality and subsequent disability. Pien Tze Huang (PZH), a Chinese medicine formula, was found to have anti-edema, anti-inflammatory and anti-thrombotic effects that can prevent brain damage. This study aims to investigate the potential mechanisms of the preventive effects of Pien Tze Huang on brain damage caused by chronic ischemia and hypertensive stroke in rats.


METHODS
The effects of Pien Tze Huang on brain protein expression in spontaneously hypertensive rat (SHR) and stroke prone SHR (SHRsp) were studied with 2-D gel electrophoresis and mass spectrometric analysis with a matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight (MALDI-TOF)/TOF tandem mass spectrometer and on brain cell death with enzyme link immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and immunostaining.


RESULTS
Pien Tze Huang decreased cell death in hippocampus and cerebellum caused by chronic ischemia and hypertensive stroke. Immunostaining of caspase-3 results indicated that Pien Tze Huang prevents brain cells from apoptosis caused by ischemia. Brain protein expression results suggested that Pien Tze Huang downregulated QCR2 in the electron transfer chain of mitochondria preventing reactive oxygen species (ROS) damage and possibly subsequent cell death (caspase 3 assay) as caused by chronic ischemia or hypertensive stroke to hippocampus and cerebellum.


CONCLUSIONS
Pien Tze Huang showed preventive effects on limiting the damage or injury caused by chronic ischemia and hypertensive stroke in rats. The effect of Pien Tze Huang was possibly related to prevention of cell death from apoptosis or ROS/oxidative damage in mitochondria.
School of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong SAR, China. david-yew@cuhk.edu.hk.
Lihong
L
Zhang
Wai Ping
WP
Lam
Lanhai
L
Lü
Chunmei
C
Wang
Yeuk Wa
YW
Wong
Lok Hang
LH
Lam
Hong Chai
HC
Tang
Maria Sen Mun
MS
Wai
Mingwei
M
Wang
Wing Hang
WH
Kwong
Sai Ming
SM
Ngai
Ying Tat
YT
Mak
David Tai Wai
DT
Yew