title: Evidence for a therapeutic effect of Braintone on ischemic brain damage.
abstract: This study used a novel combination of in vivo and in vitro experiments to show that Braintone had neuroprotective effects and clarified the molecular mechanisms underlying its efficacy. The Chinese herbal extract Braintone is composed of Radix Rhodiolase Essence, Radix Notoginseng Essence, Folium Ginkgo Essence and Rhizoma Chuanxiong. In vivo experiments showed that cerebral infarction volume was reduced, hemispheric water content decreased, and neurological deficits were alleviated in a rat model of permanent middle cerebral artery occlusion after administration of 87.5, 175 or 350 mg/kg Braintone for 7 consecutive days. Western blot analysis showed that Braintone enhanced the expression of hypoxia-inducible factor 1α, heme oxygenase-1 and vascular endothelial growth factor in the ischemic cortex of these rats. The 350 mg/kg dose of Braintone produced the most dramatic effects. For the in vitro experiments, prior to oxygen-glucose deprivation, rats were intragastrically injected with 440, 880 or 1 760 mg/kg Braintone to prepare a Braintone-containing serum, which was used to pre-treat human umbilical vein endothelial cells for 24 hours. Human umbilical vein endothelial cell injury was alleviated with this pre-treatment. Western blot and real-time PCR analysis showed that the Braintone-containing serum increased the levels of hypoxia-inducible factor 1α mRNA and protein, heme oxygenase-1 protein and vascular endothelial growth factor mRNA in oxygen-glucose deprived human umbilical vein endothelial cells. The 1 760 mg/kg dose produced the greatest increases in expression. Collectively, these experimental findings suggest that Braintone has neuroprotective effects on ischemia-induced brain damage via the up-regulation of hypoxia-inducible factor 1α, heme oxygenase-1 and vascular endothelial growth factor expression in vascular endothelial cells.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology and Laboratory of Cerebrovascular Pharmacology, College of Pharmaceutical Science, Suzhou Institute of Chinese Meteria Medica, Soochow University, Suzhou 215123, Jiangsu Province, China ; Department of Pharmacy, Suzhou Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Suzhou 215009, Jiangsu Province, China.
authors.forename: Yuanyuan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Qin
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology and Laboratory of Cerebrovascular Pharmacology, College of Pharmaceutical Science, Suzhou Institute of Chinese Meteria Medica, Soochow University, Suzhou 215123, Jiangsu Province, China.
authors.forename: Yu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Luo
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology and Laboratory of Cerebrovascular Pharmacology, College of Pharmaceutical Science, Suzhou Institute of Chinese Meteria Medica, Soochow University, Suzhou 215123, Jiangsu Province, China.
authors.forename: Weiwei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Gu
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology and Laboratory of Cerebrovascular Pharmacology, College of Pharmaceutical Science, Suzhou Institute of Chinese Meteria Medica, Soochow University, Suzhou 215123, Jiangsu Province, China.
authors.forename: Lei
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacy, Suzhou Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Suzhou 215009, Jiangsu Province, China.
authors.forename: Xikun
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Shen
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology and Laboratory of Cerebrovascular Pharmacology, College of Pharmaceutical Science, Suzhou Institute of Chinese Meteria Medica, Soochow University, Suzhou 215123, Jiangsu Province, China.
authors.forename: Zhenlun
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Gu
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology and Laboratory of Cerebrovascular Pharmacology, College of Pharmaceutical Science, Suzhou Institute of Chinese Meteria Medica, Soochow University, Suzhou 215123, Jiangsu Province, China.
authors.forename: Huiling
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Anesthesiology, Xiyuan Hospital, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing 100091, China.
authors.forename: Xiumei
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Gao
keywords: Braintone; endothelial cells; grants-supported paper; heme oxygenase-1; hypoxia inducible factor 1α; ischemic brain damage; neural regeneration; neuroregeneration; oxygen-glucose deprivation; traditional Chinese medicine; vascular endothelial growth factor