title: Puerarin accelerates neural regeneration after sciatic nerve injury.
abstract: Puerarin is a natural isoflavone isolated from plants of the genus Pueraria and functions as a protector against cerebral ischemia. We hypothesized that puerarin can be involved in the repair of peripheral nerve injuries. To test this hypothesis, doses of 10, 5, or 2.5 mg/kg per day puerarin (8-(β-D-Glucopyranosyl-7-hydroxy-3-(4-hydroxyphenyl)-4H-1-benzopyran-4-one) were injected intraperitoneally into mouse models of sciatic nerve injury. Puerarin at the middle and high doses significantly up-regulated the expression of growth-associated protein 43 in the L4-6 segments of the spinal cord from mice at 1, 2, and 4 weeks after modeling, and reduced the atrophy of the triceps surae on the affected side and promoted the regeneration of nerve fibers of the damaged spinal cord at 8 weeks after injury. We conclude that puerarin exerts an ongoing role to activate growth-associated protein 43 in the corresponding segment of the spinal cord after sciatic nerve injury, thus contributing to neural regeneration after sciatic nerve injuries.
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopedics, China-Japan Union Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun, Jilin Province, China.
authors.forename: Minfei
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: Department of Nephropathy, China-Japan Union Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun, Jilin Province, China.
authors.forename: Guanjie
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopedics, China-Japan Union Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun, Jilin Province, China.
authors.forename: Xiaoyu
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopedics, China-Japan Union Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun, Jilin Province, China.
authors.forename: Chuangang
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Peng
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopedics, China-Japan Union Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun, Jilin Province, China.
authors.forename: Jianwu
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopedics, China-Japan Union Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun, Jilin Province, China.
authors.forename: Jun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Hand & Foot Surgery and Reparative & Reconstruction Surgery Center, the Second Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun, Jilin Province, China.
authors.forename: Rui
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopedics, China-Japan Union Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun, Jilin Province, China.
authors.forename: Zhongli
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Gao
keywords: NSFC grant; growth-associated protein 43; nerve regeneration; neural regeneration; peripheral nerve injury; puerarin; repair; sciatic nerve