Journal
NEUROCHEMICAL RESEARCH
Volume 39, Issue 1, Pages 172-179Publisher
SPRINGER/PLENUM PUBLISHERS
DOI: 10.1007/s11064-013-1203-0
Keywords
Gastrodin; BDNF; Astrocyte; Hippocampus; Depression
Categories
Funding
- National Natural Science Foundation of China [81201054, 81201041, 81173285]
- Natural Science Foundation of Shaanxi province [2013JQ4014]
Ask authors/readers for more resources
Gastrodin (GAS), a main constituent of a Chinese herbal medicine Tian ma, has been shown to be effective in treating various mood disorders. The purpose of the present study was to assess the effects of GAS on alleviating depressive-like behaviors in a rat model of chronic unpredictable stress (CUS) and regulating the expression of BDNF in the hippocampus and hippocampal-derived astrocyte from Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats. Following CUS, rats were intraperitoneally administered gastrodin (50, 100, or 200 mg/kg daily) or vehicle for 2 weeks. Rats were then experienced sucrose preference test and forced swim test. The expressions of GFAP and BDNF in the hippocampus were evaluated. In addition, hippocampal astrocytes were isolated from neonatal SD rats and exposed to different concentrations of GAS (sham, 5, 10, 20, 50 and 100 mu g/mL) for 48 and 72 h before the cell viability and the levels of pERK1/2 and BDNF were analyzed. Furthermore, the cell viability was also tested after exposure to serum-free condition that contain different concentrations of GAS for 48 and 72 h. GAS administration (100 and 200 mg/kg daily) reversed depressive-like behaviors in rats exposed to CUS paradigm and restored the expression of GFAP and BDNF in the hippocampus. Moreover, in vitro experiments revealed that GAS did not increase the cell viability of astrocytes but protected it from 72 h's serum-free damage at the dosage 20 mu g/mL. Increased levels of ERK1/2 phosphorylation and BDNF protein were also observed after GAS (20 mu g/mL) treatment for 72 h. These results indicate that gastrodin possesses antidepressant effect. The changes of the astrocyte activation and the level of BDNF may play a critical role in the pharmacological action of GAS.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available