title: Effect of Chaihu-Shugan-San on the mRNA expression of the 5-HT1A receptor and cellular proliferation in the hippocampus of epileptic rats with depression.
abstract: Chaihu-Shugan-San (CHSGS) is a herbal preparation that has been shown to effectively relieve neurologic impairment and reduce depression. However, the efficacy of CHSGS in the treatment of patients with epilepsy with depression is unknown. Therefore, in the present study, adult rats were exposed to chronic mild stress following the establishment of chronic pilocarpine-induced epilepsy. Subsequently, a sucrose consumption test and open-field test (OFT) were performed to assess depression-like behavior. Rats were randomly divided into four groups: Control, model, fluoxetine (1.8 g/kg) and CHSGS (2.7 g/kg) groups. The control and model groups received normal saline. The mRNA expression levels of the 5-hydroxytryptamine 1A (5-HT1A) receptor and the number of 5-bromo-2'-deoxyuridine (BrdU)-labeled cells in the hippocampal dentate gyrus were detected using reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction and immunohistochemical analysis, respectively. Treatment administration was conducted by once daily intragastric perfusion for 28 days. The mRNA expression levels of the 5-HT1A receptor, the number of BrdU-labeled cells in the hippocampal dentate gyrus, the consumption of sucrose, and frequency of vertical and horizontal movement scores in the OFT were enhanced in the fluoxetine and CHSGS groups compared with the model group (P<0.05). However, no statistically significant difference was detected between the fluoxetine and CHSGS groups. These data suggest that CHSGS is able to increase the expression of 5-HT1A receptor mRNA and cellular proliferation in the hippocampal dentate gyrus in epileptic rats with depression, and thus effectively improve certain symptoms of depression.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatrics, Hunan Brain Hospital, Changsha, Hunan 410007, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Ping
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Provincial Key Laboratory of TCM Diagnostics, Hunan University of Chinese Medicine, Changsha, Hunan 410208, P.R. China; Department of Anatomy, Hunan University of Chinese Medicine, Changsha, Hunan 410208, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Liang
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatrics, Hunan Brain Hospital, Changsha, Hunan 410007, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Xue-Jun
authors.initials: XJ
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Provincial Key Laboratory of TCM Diagnostics, Hunan University of Chinese Medicine, Changsha, Hunan 410208, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Xiong
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Cai
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, The First Hospital of Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, Shanxi 030001, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Mei-Zhen
authors.initials: MZ
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.affiliation: Provincial Key Laboratory of TCM Diagnostics, Hunan University of Chinese Medicine, Changsha, Hunan 410208, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Jun-Feng
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: He
authors.affiliation: Provincial Key Laboratory of TCM Diagnostics, Hunan University of Chinese Medicine, Changsha, Hunan 410208, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Guang
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Zeng
authors.affiliation: Provincial Key Laboratory of TCM Diagnostics, Hunan University of Chinese Medicine, Changsha, Hunan 410208, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Hui-Yong
authors.initials: HY
authors.lastname: Huang
keywords: 5-hydroxytryptamine 1A receptor; Chaihu-Shugan-San; cell proliferation; chronic mild stress; epilepsy with depression