title: Cerebralcare Granule® attenuates blood-brain barrier disruption after middle cerebral artery occlusion in rats.
abstract: Disruption of blood-brain barrier (BBB) and subsequent edema are major contributors to the pathogenesis of ischemic stroke, for which the current clinical therapy remains unsatisfied. Cerebralcare Granule® (CG) is a compound Chinese medicine widely used in China for treatment of cerebrovascular diseases. CG has been demonstrated efficacy in attenuating the cerebral microcirculatory disturbance and hippocampal neuron injury following global cerebral ischemia. However, the effects of CG on BBB disruption following cerebral ischemia have not been investigated. In this study, we examined the therapeutic effect of CG on the BBB disruption in a focal cerebral ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) rat model. Male Sprague-Dawley rats (250 to 300 g) were subjected to 1h middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO). CG (0.4 g/kg or 0.8 g/kg) was administrated orally 3h after reperfusion for the first time and then once daily up to 6 days. The results showed that Evans blue extravasation, brain water content, albumin leakage, infarction volume and neurological deficits increased in MCAO model rats, and were attenuated significantly by CG treatment. T2-weighted MRI and electron microscopy further confirmed the brain edema reduction in CG-treated rats. Treatment with CG improved cerebral blood flow (CBF). Western blot analysis and confocal microscopy showed that the tight junction proteins claudin-5, JAM-1, occludin and zonula occluden-1 between endothelial cells were significantly degradated, but the protein expression of caveolin-1, the principal marker of caveolae in endothelial cells, increased after ischemia, all of which were alleviated by CG treatment. In conclusion, the post-treatment with CG significantly reduced BBB permeability and brain edema, which were correlated with preventing the degradation of the tight junction proteins and inhibiting the expression of caveolin-1 in the endothelial cells. These findings provide a novel approach to the treatment of ischemic stroke.
authors.affiliation: Tasly Microcirculation Research Center, Peking University Health Science Center, Beijing, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Ping
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: Chang-Man
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.lastname: Qin-Hu
authors.forename: Yu-Ying
authors.initials: YY
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Bai-He
authors.initials: BH
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.forename: Xin
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Chang
authors.forename: Xin-Rong
authors.initials: XR
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.forename: Xiang-Shun
authors.initials: XS
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.forename: Quan
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Xiao-Hong
authors.initials: XH
authors.lastname: Wei
authors.forename: Xiao-Wei
authors.initials: XW
authors.lastname: Mao
authors.forename: Chuan-She
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Jing-Yu
authors.initials: JY
authors.lastname: Fan
authors.forename: Jing-Yan
authors.initials: JY
authors.lastname: Han
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001812:Blood-Brain Barrier / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000473:pathology; D015153:Blotting, Western; D001929:Brain Edema / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D002199:Capillary Permeability / Q000187:drug effects; D002560:Cerebrovascular Circulation / Q000187:drug effects; D004365:Drugs, Chinese Herbal / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D020244:Infarction, Middle Cerebral Artery / Q000150:complications / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000473:pathology; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D018613:Microscopy, Confocal; D046529:Microscopy, Electron, Transmission; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley
chemical_list: D004365:Drugs, Chinese Herbal