title: Synergistic effect of tanshinone IIA and mesenchymal stem cells on preventing learning and memory deficits via anti-apoptosis, attenuating tau phosphorylation and enhancing the activity of central cholinergic system in vascular dementia.
abstract: Vascular dementia (VaD) is one of common causes of dementia following Alzheimer's disease. However, up to date, there has been no effective treatment for VaD yet. Cellular therapy with mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) and some extract ingredients of traditional Chinese medicines are expected to improve learning and memory function in VaD model. In this study, we applied tanshinone II A (TSA) and MSCs in the rat model of VaD to evaluate the synergistic effect of TSA and MSCs on preventing cognitive deficits as well as explore the underlying mechanism. The VaD model was established by using modified four-vessel occlusion(4-VO) on rats. Our results showed that TSA combined with MSCs treatment provided a better protecting effect on spatial learning and memory function in the VaD rats than those treated with either MSCs or TSA only. The combined administration of TSA and MSCs demonstrated a synergistic effect on suppressing neuronal apoptosis in the hippocampus, attenuating tau phosphorylation and enhancing the activity of central cholinergic system. These results indicated that the combination of TSA and MSCs exhibits better therapeutic effects on learning and memory protection than the treatment with either MSCs or TSA only, suggesting a potential novel treatment for VaD.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, The Affiliated Ruikang Hospital of Guangxi Traditional Chinese Medical University, Nanning 530011, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China. Electronic address: kongdeyangxnn@163.com.
authors.forename: Deyan
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Kong
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Jinling Hospital, Medical School of Nanjing University, 305 East Zhongshan Road, Nanjing 210002, Jiangsu, China. Electronic address: conneym@163.com.
authors.forename: Qian
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Department of Rehabilitation, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, 300 Guangzhou Road, Nanjing 210029, Jiangsu, China. Electronic address: xuguangxu1@126.com.
authors.forename: Guangxu
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: Department of Urology, National Hospital of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Nanning 530001, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China. Electronic address: huangzhenhuakdy@163.com.
authors.forename: Zhenhua
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, The Affiliated Ruikang Hospital of Guangxi Traditional Chinese Medical University, Nanning 530011, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China. Electronic address: ln760320@163.com.
authors.forename: Ning
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Luo
authors.affiliation: Department of the Experimental Physiology, Guangxi Medical University, Nanning 530021, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China. Electronic address: huangyuanheng@163.com.
authors.forename: Yuanheng
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: Department of Rehabilitation, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, 300 Guangzhou Road, Nanjing 210029, Jiangsu, China. Electronic address: caikeshu@sina.com.
authors.forename: Keshu
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Cai
mesh_terms: D045784:Abietanes / Q000494:pharmacology*; D000109:Acetylcholine / Q000378:metabolism; D000818:Animals; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000187:drug effects*; D015140:Dementia, Vascular / Q000188:drug therapy*; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000503:physiopathology; D008297:Male; D008568:Memory / Q000187:drug effects; D008569:Memory Disorders / Q000188:drug therapy*; D059630:Mesenchymal Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects*; D010766:Phosphorylation / Q000187:drug effects; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D016875:tau Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D045784:Abietanes; D016875:tau Proteins; C021751:tanshinone; D000109:Acetylcholine
keywords: Apoptosis; Cholinergic; Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs); Tanshinone IIA; Tau; Vascular dementia(VaD)