Puerarin ameliorates oxidative stress in a rodent model of traumatic brain injury.
BACKGROUND
A wealth of evidence has suggested that oxidative stress is involved in the secondary brain injury after traumatic brain injury (TBI). Recently, numerous in vivo and in vitro studies were reported that puerarin could inhibit oxidative stress through the activation of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K)-Akt pathway. It is unknown, however, whether puerarin can provide neuroprotection and reduce oxidative stress after TBI. The present study investigated the effects of puerarin on the TBI-induced neurodegeneration, oxidative stress, and the possible role of PI3K-Akt pathway in the neuroprotection of puerarin, in a rat model of TBI.


METHODS
Rats were randomly distributed into various subgroups undergoing the sham surgery or TBI procedures. Puerarin (200 mg/kg) was given intraperitoneally at 10 min before injury and PI3K-Akt pathway inhibitor LY294002 was also administered intracerebroventricular in one subgroup. All rats were killed at 24 h after TBI for examination.


RESULTS
Our data indicated that puerarin could significantly reduce TBI-induced neuronal degeneration, accompanied by the partial restoration of the redox disturbance and enhanced expression of phospho-Akt in the pericontusional cortex after TBI. Moreover, PI3K-Akt pathway inhibitor LY294002 could partially abrogate the neuroprotection of puerarin in rats with TBI.


CONCLUSIONS
These results indicate that puerarin can ameliorate oxidative neurodegeneration after TBI, at least in part, through the activation of PI3K-Akt pathway.
Department of Neurosurgery, Jinling Hospital, School of Medicine, Nanjing University, Nanjing, China.
Jia-Wei
JW
Wang
Han-Dong
HD
Wang
Zi-Xiang
ZX
Cong
Xiao-Ming
XM
Zhou
Jian-Guo
JG
Xu
Yue
Y
Jia
Yu
Y
Ding
D000818:Animals; D001930:Brain Injuries / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000378:metabolism; D002462:Cell Membrane / Q000187:drug effects; D007529:Isoflavones / Q000494:pharmacology*; D008297:Male; D009410:Nerve Degeneration / Q000139:chemically induced; D018384:Oxidative Stress / Q000187:drug effects*; D010766:Phosphorylation; D051057:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt / Q000378:metabolism; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley
D007529:Isoflavones; D051057:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt; C033607:puerarin
Akt; Oxidative stress; Puerarin; Traumatic brain injury