title: Ferulic acid attenuates the focal cerebral ischemic injury-induced decrease in parvalbumin expression.
abstract: Ferulic acid exerts a neuroprotective effect through its anti-oxidant and anti-inflammation properties. Parvalbumin has calcium buffering capacity and protects neuronal cells from cytotoxic Ca(2+) overload. This study investigated whether ferulic acid regulates parvalbumin expression in cerebral ischemia and glutamate toxicity-induced neuronal cell death. Male Sprague-Dawley rats were immediately treated with vehicle or ferulic acid (100 mg/kg, i.v.) after middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO), and cerebral cortex tissues were collected 24 h after MCAO. A proteomics approach elucidated the decrease of parvalbumin in MCAO-operated animals, and ferulic acid treatment attenuated the injury-induced decrease in parvalbumin expression. Moreover, RT-PCR and Western blot analyses clearly showed that ferulic acid treatment prevents the injury-induced decrease in parvalbumin levels. The number of parvalbumin-positive cells also decreased in MCAO-operated animals, and ferulic acid attenuated this injury-induced decrease in parvalbumin-positive cells. In cultured hippocampal cells, glutamate toxicity significantly increased the intracellular Ca(2+) concentration, whereas this increase in Ca(2+) levels was inhibited by ferulic acid treatment. In addition, ferulic acid treatment attenuated the glutamate exposure-induced decrease in parvalbumin levels. These results suggest that ferulic acid exerts a neuroprotective effect by attenuating the injury-induced decrease of parvalbumin and modulating intracellular Ca(2+) levels.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy, College of Veterinary Medicine, Research Institute of Life Science, South Korea.
authors.forename: Jin-Hee
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Sung
authors.forename: Myeong-Ok
authors.initials: MO
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Phil-Ok
authors.initials: PO
authors.lastname: Koh
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000925:Anticoagulants / Q000494:pharmacology; D001921:Brain / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism*; D002545:Brain Ischemia / Q000378:metabolism*; D003373:Coumaric Acids / Q000494:pharmacology*; D015536:Down-Regulation / Q000187:drug effects; D008297:Male; D010320:Parvalbumins / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley
chemical_list: D000925:Anticoagulants; D003373:Coumaric Acids; D010320:Parvalbumins; C004999:ferulic acid