School of Chinese Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, NT, Hong Kong, China.
Cell Mol Neurobiol. 2010 Oct;30(7):1059-66. doi: 10.1007/s10571-010-9537-5. Epub 2010 Jun 25.
Preclinical and clinical investigations have shown hippocampal neuronal atrophy and destruction were observed in patients with depression, which could be ameliorated by the treatment with antidepressants. Therefore, neuroprotection has been proposed to be one of the acting mechanisms of antidepressant. Paeoniflorin, a monoterpene glycoside, has been reported to display antidepressant-like effects in animal models of behavioral despair. The present study aimed to examine the protective effect of paeoniflorin on glutamate-induced neurotoxicity in cultured rat pheochromocytoma (PC12) cells. The results showed that pretreatment with paeoniflorin elevated cell viability, inhibited apoptosis, decreased levels of intracellular reactive oxygen species and malondialdehyde, and enhanced activity of superoxide dismutase in glutamate-treated PC12 cells. Pretreatment with paeoniflorin also reversed the increased intracellular Ca(2+) concentration and the reduced Calbindin-D28K mRNA level caused by glutamate in PC12 cells. The results suggest that paeoniflorin exerts a neuroprotective effect on glutamate-induced neurotoxicity in PC12 cells, at least in part, via inhibiting oxidative stress and Ca(2+) overload. This neuroprotective effect may be one of the action pathways accounting for the in vivo antidepressant activity of paeoniflorin.
临床前和临床研究表明，抑郁症患者的海马神经元出现萎缩和破坏，而抗抑郁药物的治疗可以改善这种情况。因此，神经保护被认为是抗抑郁药物的作用机制之一。芍药苷是一种单萜糖苷，已被报道在行为绝望的动物模型中具有抗抑郁样作用。本研究旨在探讨芍药苷对谷氨酸诱导的培养大鼠嗜铬细胞瘤（PC12）细胞毒性的保护作用。结果表明，芍药苷预处理可提高细胞活力，抑制细胞凋亡，降低谷氨酸处理的 PC12 细胞内活性氧和丙二醛水平，增强超氧化物歧化酶活性。芍药苷预处理还可逆转谷氨酸引起的 PC12 细胞内 Ca（2+）浓度升高和钙结合蛋白 D28K mRNA 水平降低。结果表明，芍药苷对谷氨酸诱导的 PC12 细胞毒性具有神经保护作用，至少部分是通过抑制氧化应激和 Ca（2+）超载。这种神经保护作用可能是芍药苷体内抗抑郁活性的作用途径之一。
