title: Chinese herbal formula Tongluo Jiunao injection protects against cerebral ischemia by activating neurotrophin 3/tropomyosin-related kinase C pathway.
abstract: The Chinese herbal formula Tongluo Jiunao, containing the active components Panax notoginseng and Gardenia jasminoides, has recently been patented and is in use clinically. It is known to be neuroprotective in cerebral ischemia, but the underlying pathway remains poorly understood. In the present study, we established a rat model of cerebral ischemia by occlusion of the middle cerebral artery, and administered Tongluo Jiunao, a positive control (Xuesai Tong, containing Panax notoginseng) or saline intraperitoneally to investigate the pathway involved in the action of Tongluo Jiunao injection. 2,3,5-Triphenyltetrazolium chloride (TTC) staining showed that the cerebral infarct area was significantly smaller in model rats that received Tongluo Jiunao than in those that received saline. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay revealed significantly greater expression of neurotrophin 3 and growth-associated protein 43 in ischemic cerebral tissue, and serum levels of neurotrophin 3, in the Tongluo Jiunao group than in the saline group. The reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction and immunohistochemical staining showed that after treatment with Tongluo Jiunao or Xuesai Tong, tropomyosin-related kinase C gene expression and immunoreactivity were significantly elevated compared with saline, with the greatest expression observed after Tongluo Jiunao treatment. These findings suggest that Tongluo Jiunao injection exerts a neuroprotective effect in rats with cerebral ischemia by activating the neurotrophin 3/tropomyosin-related kinase C pathway.
authors: Research Center of Natural Product Health, North Khorasan University of Medical Science, Bojnourd, North Khorasan, Iran.
authors: Peiman
authors: P
authors: Alesheikh
authors: Research Center of Natural Product Health, North Khorasan University of Medical Science, Bojnourd, North Khorasan, Iran.
authors: Arezou
authors: A
authors: Mashoufi
authors: Department of Pathology, Preclinical Medical School, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, China.
authors: Hui-Ling
authors: HL
authors: Tang
authors: Department of Pathology, Preclinical Medical School, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, China.
authors: Wei
authors: W
authors: Zhang
authors: Department of Pathology, Preclinical Medical School, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, China.
authors: Bo
authors: B
authors: Di
authors: Department of Pathology, Preclinical Medical School, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, China.
authors: Yang-Yang
authors: YY
authors: Yan
authors: Dongzhimen Hospital Affiliated to Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, China.
authors: Peng-Tao
authors: PT
authors: Li
authors: Department of Pathology, Preclinical Medical School, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, China.
authors: Yan-Shu
authors: YS
authors: Pan
keywords: Chinese herbal formula; NSFC grant; Tneurotrophic factor; Xuesai Tong; cerebral ischemia; nerve growth factor receptor; neural regeneration; neuroprotection; ongluo Jiunao injection