title: Indication of nerve growth factor binding components from herbal extracts by HerboChip: a platform for drug screening on a chip.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  HerboChip is an array of different fractions deriving from herbal extracts. This study aimed to identify effective components from Chinese medicine (CM) that interact with nerve growth factor (NGF) as a target using HerboChip.
  
  
  METHODS
  Fifty types of CM that are traditionally used as remedies for emotion imbalance were selected and extracted with 50 % ethanol. Biotinylated-NGF was hybridized with over 300 chips coated with different HPLC-separated fractions from CM extracts and straptavidin-Cy5 was used to identify the NGF-bound fractions.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Over 300 chips were screened within a week, and 17 positive hits were identified. The interaction of the identified herbal extracts with NGF was confirmed in cultured PC12 cells. Co-application of NGF and herbal extract interfered with NGF-induced expression of neurofilaments, including NF68 and NF200 in cell cultures. Western blot analysis comparing the intensity of phosphorylated cAMP response element-binding protein (CREB) over total CREB showed NGF-induced CREB phosphorylation was modulated by the identified herbal extracts. Five CM herbs showed activating activities on the NGF response and nine CM herbs showed inhibiting activities.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The current result supported the applicability of HerboChip for screening NGF binding components from herbal extracts.
authors.affiliation: Division of Life Science and Center for Chinese Medicine R&D, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Hong Kong SAR, China.
authors.forename: Pinky Sum Chi
authors.initials: PS
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Division of Life Science and Center for Chinese Medicine R&D, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Hong Kong SAR, China.
authors.forename: Laura Minglu
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Division of Life Science and Center for Chinese Medicine R&D, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Hong Kong SAR, China.
authors.forename: Artemis Lu
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Yan
authors.affiliation: Division of Life Science and Center for Chinese Medicine R&D, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Hong Kong SAR, China.
authors.forename: Kelly Yin Ching
authors.initials: KY
authors.lastname: Lam
authors.affiliation: Division of Life Science and Center for Chinese Medicine R&D, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Hong Kong SAR, China.
authors.forename: Tina Tingxia
authors.initials: TT
authors.lastname: Dong
authors.affiliation: Division of Life Science and Center for Chinese Medicine R&D, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Hong Kong SAR, China.
authors.forename: Huangquan
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.affiliation: Division of Life Science and Center for Chinese Medicine R&D, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Hong Kong SAR, China.
authors.forename: Gallant Kar Lun
authors.initials: GK
authors.lastname: Chan
authors.affiliation: Division of Life Science and Center for Chinese Medicine R&D, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Hong Kong SAR, China.
authors.forename: Karl Wah Keung
authors.initials: KW
authors.lastname: Tsim