title: Effect of berberine and Berberis aetnensis C. Presl. alkaloid extract on glutamate-evoked tissue transglutaminase up-regulation in astroglial cell cultures.
abstract: Berberis aetnensis C. Presl. is a bushy-spiny shrub common on Mount Etna (Sicily, Italy), containing various alkaloids with several pharmacological properties. This study assessed the effect of berberine and of the alkaloid extract of B. aetnensis roots on the glutamate-evoked tissue transglutaminase (TG2) up-regulation in rat astrocyte primary cultures, used as an in vitro model of excitotoxicity. The findings show that the alkaloid extract of B. aetnensis roots consists mainly of berberine. Furthermore, berberine and the alkaloid extract of B. aetnensis roots were able to restore the oxidative status modified by glutamate and the levels of TG2 to control values. It was found that berberine or the alkaloid extract of B. aetnensis roots are able to ameliorate the excessive production of glutamate, protein misfolding and aggregation, mitochondrial fragmentation, and neurodegeneration. Thus, it is suggested that berberine and the alkaloid extract of B. aetnensis roots, may represent a natural therapeutic strategy in the neuropathological conditions associated with excitotoxicity.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Chemistry, Medical Chemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Catania, Catania, Italy.
authors.forename: Agata
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Campisi
authors.forename: Rosaria
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Acquaviva
authors.forename: Silvana
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mastrojeni
authors.forename: Giuseppina
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Raciti
authors.forename: Angelo
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Vanella
authors.forename: Rita
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: De Pasquale
authors.forename: Salvatore
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Puglisi
authors.forename: Liliana
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Iauk
mesh_terms: D000470:Alkaloids / Q000494:pharmacology*; D000818:Animals; D001253:Astrocytes / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000201:enzymology / Q000378:metabolism; D001599:Berberine / Q000494:pharmacology*; D028142:Berberis / Q000737:chemistry*; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D018698:Glutamic Acid / Q000494:pharmacology*; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000494:pharmacology*; D018517:Plant Roots / Q000737:chemistry; D000091345:Protein Glutamine gamma Glutamyltransferase 2; D051381:Rats; D012802:Sicily; D011503:Transglutaminases / Q000378:metabolism*; D015854:Up-Regulation / Q000187:drug effects
chemical_list: D000470:Alkaloids; D010936:Plant Extracts; C000717609:Tgm2 protein, rat; D001599:Berberine; D018698:Glutamic Acid; D000091345:Protein Glutamine gamma Glutamyltransferase 2; D011503:Transglutaminases