title: Anti-Inflammatory and Neuroprotective Effects of Triptolide via the NF-κB Signaling Pathway in a Rat MCAO Model.
abstract: Stroke is the leading cause of neurological disability in humans. Middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) followed by reperfusion is widely accepted to mimic stroke in basic medical research. Triptolide is one of the major active components of the traditional Chinese herb Tripterygium wilfordii Hook F, and has been reported to have potent anti-inflammatory and immunosuppressive properties. Since its preclinical effects on stroke were still unclear, we decided to study the effects of Triptolide on focal cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury in this study. The results showed that Triptolide treatment significantly attenuates brain infarction volume, water content, neurological deficits, and neuronal cell death rate, which were increased in the MCAO model rats. Immunohistochemistry was used to analyze the expression of glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), Cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), inducible nitric oxide (iNOS), and NF-κB in the ischemic brains. The administration of Triptolide showed down-regulation of the iNOS, COX-2, GFAP, and NF-κB expression in MCAO rats. It also increased the expression of bcl-2, and suppressed levels of bax and caspase-3 compared with the MCAO group. Our findings revealed that Triptolide exerts its neuroprotective effects against inflammation with the involvement of inhibition of NF-κB activation.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Neuroscience, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, 310058, China.|School of Medicine, Taizhou University, Taizhou, China.
authors.forename: Shi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bai
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Hangzhou Red Cross Hospital, Hangzhou, China.
authors.forename: Zhiying
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.affiliation: Institute of Neuroscience, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, 310058, China.
authors.forename: Yang
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Institute of Neuroscience, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, 310058, China.
authors.forename: Yifei
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yin
authors.affiliation: Institute of Neuroscience, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, 310058, China.
authors.forename: Weiyun
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: School of Medicine, Taizhou University, Taizhou, China.
authors.forename: Lijuan
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: Institute of Neuroscience, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, 310058, China.
authors.forename: Marong
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Fang
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000893:Anti-Inflammatory Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D018906:Antineoplastic Agents, Alkylating / Q000494:pharmacology; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000187:drug effects; D015153:Blotting, Western; D051546:Cyclooxygenase 2 / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D004224:Diterpenes / Q000494:pharmacology*; D004852:Epoxy Compounds / Q000494:pharmacology; D005904:Glial Fibrillary Acidic Protein / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D007124:Immunoenzyme Techniques; D020287:In Situ Nick-End Labeling; D020244:Infarction, Middle Cerebral Artery / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D008297:Male; D016328:NF-kappa B / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D018696:Neuroprotective Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D009569:Nitric Oxide / Q000378:metabolism; D010616:Phenanthrenes / Q000494:pharmacology*; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000235:genetics; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D060888:Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction; D015427:Reperfusion Injury / Q000201:enzymology / Q000473:pathology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000187:drug effects
chemical_list: D000893:Anti-Inflammatory Agents; D018906:Antineoplastic Agents, Alkylating; D004224:Diterpenes; D004852:Epoxy Compounds; D005904:Glial Fibrillary Acidic Protein; D016328:NF-kappa B; D018696:Neuroprotective Agents; D010616:Phenanthrenes; D012333:RNA, Messenger; C001899:triptolide; D009569:Nitric Oxide; D051546:Cyclooxygenase 2
keywords: COX-2; NF-κB; cerebral ischemia; neuroinflammation; triptolide