title: Proliferating cell nuclear antigen involved in the repair process of ouabain-induced brain damage independent of hypertension in rats.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Ouabain is a mammalian adrenocortical hormone that is involved in the pathogenesis of hypertension by inhibiting Na-K ATPase activity. It also participates in a variety of kinase-mediated signaling pathways associated with Na-K ATPase. Previous studies have shown that ouabain can cause cardiac remodeling independent of elevated blood pressure and that proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) plays a coordinating role for numerous proteins involved in multiple processes associated with DNA synthesis. Therefore, we hypothesized that ouabain might play a role in the cerebral cortex through signaling pathways independent of hypertension. And PCNA might be involved in this process.
  
  
  METHODS
  Male Sprague-Dawley rats were treated with ouabain or with 0.9% nitric sodium as the control group. Systolic blood pressure was recorded weekly. After four weeks of treatment, morphological changes in the cerebral cortex were analyzed using light and transmission electron microscopy. The expression of PCNA in the cerebral cortex was evaluated by immunohistochemistry, real time quantitative PCR, and Western blotting.
  
  
  RESULTS
  After 4-week treatment, there was no significant difference in systolic blood pressure compared with the control group, but both structural deterioration and up-regulated expression of PCNA in the brain was induced by ouabain treatment.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These results suggest that ouabain induces alterations in the brain structure, and this effect is independent of blood pressure. PCNA might be involved in the repair process of ouabain-induced brain damage.
authors.affiliation: Department of Geriatrics, Qilu Hospital of Shandong University; Shandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Cardiovascular Proteomics, Jinan, Shandong 250012, China.
authors.forename: Beian
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: You
authors.affiliation: Department of Geriatrics, Qilu Hospital of Shandong University; Shandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Cardiovascular Proteomics, Jinan, Shandong 250012, China.
authors.forename: Lin
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Shen
authors.affiliation: Department of Geriatrics, Qilu Hospital of Shandong University; Shandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Cardiovascular Proteomics, Jinan, Shandong 250012, China.
authors.forename: Jie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Qiu
authors.affiliation: Department of Geriatrics, Qilu Hospital of Shandong University; Shandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Cardiovascular Proteomics, Jinan, Shandong 250012, China.
authors.forename: Xiangju
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Department of Geriatrics, Qilu Hospital of Shandong University; Shandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Cardiovascular Proteomics, Jinan, Shandong 250012, China.
authors.forename: Shaohua
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: Department of Geriatrics, Qilu Hospital of Shandong University; Shandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Cardiovascular Proteomics, Jinan, Shandong 250012, China.
authors.forename: Xiang
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Ji
authors.affiliation: Department of Geriatrics, Qilu Hospital of Shandong University; Shandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Cardiovascular Proteomics, Jinan, Shandong 250012, China.
authors.forename: Yan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Geriatrics, Qilu Hospital of Shandong University; Shandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Cardiovascular Proteomics, Jinan, Shandong 250012, China. Email: gaohaiqing55@163.com.
authors.forename: Haiqing
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Gao
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001794:Blood Pressure / Q000187:drug effects; D006973:Hypertension / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000378:metabolism*; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008297:Male; D010042:Ouabain / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D018809:Proliferating Cell Nuclear Antigen / Q000378:metabolism*; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D060888:Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction; D000254:Sodium-Potassium-Exchanging ATPase / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D018809:Proliferating Cell Nuclear Antigen; D010042:Ouabain; D000254:Sodium-Potassium-Exchanging ATPase