title: Hydrogen sulfide protects against amyloid beta-peptide induced neuronal injury via attenuating inflammatory responses in a rat model.
abstract: Neuroinflammation has been recognized to play a critical role in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease (AD), which is pathologically characterized by the accumulation of senile plaques containing activated microglia and amyloid β-peptides (Aβ). In the present study, we examined the neuroprotective effects of hydrogen sulfide (H2S) on neuroinflammation in rats with Aβ1-40 hippocampal injection. We found that Aβ-induced rats exhibited a disorder of pyramidal cell layer arrangement, and a decrease of mean pyramidal cell number in the CA1 hippocampal region compared with those in sham operated rats. NaHS (a donor of H2S, 5.6 mg/kg/d, i.p.) treatment for 3 weeks rescued neuronal cell death significantly. Moreover, we found that H2S dramatically suppressed the release of TNF-α, IL-1β and IL-6 in the hippocampus. Consistently, both immunohistochemistry and Western blotting assays showed that H2S inhibited the upregulation of COX-2 and the activation of NF-κB in the hippocampus. In conclusion, our data indicate that H2S suppresses neuroinflammation via inhibition of the NF-κB activation pathway in the Aβ-induced rat model and has potential value for AD therapy.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory Center for Basic Medical Sciences, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, Jiangsu 210029, China;
authors.forename: Hao
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Fan
authors.forename: Yu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.forename: Xiaoyan
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Liang
authors.forename: Yibiao
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yuan
authors.forename: Xiaohong
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Qi
authors.forename: Min
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Jianhua
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ma
authors.forename: Hong
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zhou
keywords: Alzheimer's disease; amyloid; cyclooxygenase-2; hydrogen sulfide; nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB)