title: Coptis chinensis Franch. exhibits neuroprotective properties against oxidative stress in human neuroblastoma cells.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The dried rhizome of Coptis chinensis Franch. (family Ranunculaceae) is traditionally used in Chinese medicine for the treatment of inflammatory diseases and diabetes. Recent studies showed a variety of activities of Coptis chinensis Franch. alkaloids, including neuroprotective, neuroregenerative, anti-diabetic, anti-oxidative and anti-inflammatory effects. However, there is no report on the neuroprotective effect of Coptis chinensis Franch. watery extract against tert-butylhydroperoxide (t-BOOH) induced oxidative damage. The aim of the study is to investigate neuroprotective properties of Coptis chinensis Franch. rhizome watery extract (CRE) and to evaluate its potential mechanism of action.
  
  
  METHODS
  Neuroprotective properties on t-BOOH induced oxidative stress were investigated in SH-SY5Y human neuroblastoma cells. Cells were pretreated with CRE for 2 h or 24 h followed by 2 h of treatment with t-BOOH. To evaluate the neuroprotective effect of CRE, cell viability, cellular reactive oxygen species (ROS), mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) and the apoptotic rate were determined and microarray analyses, as well as qRT-PCR analyses were conducted.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Two hours of exposure to 100 µM t-BOOH resulted in a significant reduction of cell viability, increased apoptotic rate, declined mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) and increased ROS production. Reduction of cell viability, increased apoptotic rate and declined mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) could be significantly reduced in cells pretreated with CRE (100 µg/ml) for 2h or 24h ahead of t-BOOH exposure with the greatest effect after 24h of pretreatment; however ROS production was not changed significantly. Furthermore, microarray analyses revealed that the expressions of 2 genes; thioredoxin-interacting protein (TXNIP) and mitochondrially encoded NADH dehydrogenase 1, were significantly regulated. Down regulation of TXNIP was confirmed by qRT-PCR.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Due to its neuroprotective properties CRE might be a potential therapeutic agent for the prevention or amelioration of diseases like diabetic neuropathy and neurodegenerative disorders like Alzheimer and Parkinsons disease.
authors.affiliation: HanseMerkur Center for Traditional Chinese Medicine at the University Clinic Hamburg-Eppendorf, Martinistr. 52, Hamburg 20246, Germany. Electronic address: Friedemann@tcm-am-uke.de.
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Friedemann
authors.affiliation: Array Service Center, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Martinistr. 52, Hamburg 20246, Germany. Electronic address: b.otto@uke.uni-hamburg.de.
authors.forename: Benjamin
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Otto
authors.affiliation: Array Service Center, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Martinistr. 52, Hamburg 20246, Germany. Electronic address: k.klaetschke@uke.uni-hamburg.de.
authors.forename: Kristin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Klätschke
authors.affiliation: Institute of Anatomy and Experimental Morphology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Martinistr. 52, Hamburg 20246, Germany. Electronic address: uschumac@uke.de.
authors.forename: Udo
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Schumacher
authors.affiliation: School of Chinese Medicine, Hong Kong Baptist University, 7 Baptist University Road, Kowloon Tong, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China. Electronic address: mrtaoyi@hkbu.edu.hk.
authors.forename: Yi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Tao
authors.affiliation: School of Chinese Medicine, Hong Kong Baptist University, 7 Baptist University Road, Kowloon Tong, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China. Electronic address: akmleung@hkbu.edu.hk.
authors.forename: Alexander Kai-Man
authors.initials: AK
authors.lastname: Leung
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmaceutical Biology, Institute of Pharmacy and Biochemistry, Johannes Gutenberg University, Staudinger Weg 5, 55128 Mainz, Germany. Electronic address: efferth@uni-mainz.de.
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Efferth
authors.affiliation: HanseMerkur Center for Traditional Chinese Medicine at the University Clinic Hamburg-Eppendorf, Martinistr. 52, Hamburg 20246, Germany. Electronic address: schroeder@tcm-am-uke.de.
authors.forename: Sven
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Schröder
mesh_terms: D017209:Apoptosis / Q000187:drug effects; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D002470:Cell Survival / Q000187:drug effects; D039323:Coptis / Q000737:chemistry*; D006801:Humans; D053078:Membrane Potential, Mitochondrial / Q000187:drug effects; D046228:Microarray Analysis; D009447:Neuroblastoma / Q000378:metabolism; D018696:Neuroprotective Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000494:pharmacology*; D018384:Oxidative Stress / Q000187:drug effects*; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000494:pharmacology*; D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species / Q000378:metabolism; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D027343:Rhizome; D013997:Time Factors; D020122:tert-Butylhydroperoxide / Q000633:toxicity
chemical_list: D018696:Neuroprotective Agents; D010936:Plant Extracts; D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species; D020122:tert-Butylhydroperoxide
keywords: Apoptosis; Coptidis rhizoma; Neuroprotection; Oxidative stress; SH-SY5Y; Thioredoxin-interacting protein