Basic Medical College, Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing 210023, China.
Basic Medical College, Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing 210023, China ; Laboratory of Pathological Sciences, Basic Medical College, Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing 210023, China.
Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2014;2014:506735. doi: 10.1155/2014/506735. Epub 2014 Jan 9.
This study aimed to explore the antidepressant mechanisms of ginseng total saponins (GTS) in the corticosterone-induced mouse depression model. In Experiment 1, GTS (50, 25, and 12.5 mg kg(-1) d(-1), intragastrically) were given for 3 weeks. In Experiment 2, the same doses of GTS were administrated after each corticosterone (20 mg kg(-1) d(-1), subcutaneously) injection for 22 days. In both experiments, mice underwent a forced swimming test and a tail suspension test on day 20 and day 21, respectively, and were sacrificed on day 22. Results of Experiment 1 revealed that GTS (50 and 25 mg kg(-1) d(-1)) exhibited antidepressant activity and not statistically altered hippocampal protein levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and neurofilament light chain (NF-L). Results of Experiment 2 showed that GTS (50 and 25 mg kg(-1) d(-1)) ameliorated depression-like behavior without normalizing hypercortisolism. The GTS treatments reversed the corticosterone-induced changes in mRNA levels of BDNF and NF-L, and protein levels of BDNF NF-L, phosphor-cAMP response element-binding protein (Ser133), and phosphor-glycogen synthase kinase-3 β (Ser9) in the hippocampus. These findings imply that the effect of GTS on corticosterone-induced depression-like behavior may be mediated partly through interfering with hippocampal GSK-3 β -CREB signaling pathway and reversing decrease of some plasticity-related proteins.
本研究旨在探讨人参总皂苷（GTS）在皮质酮诱导的小鼠抑郁模型中的抗抑郁作用机制。实验 1 中，GTS（50、25 和 12.5mg·kg(-1)·d(-1)，灌胃）连续给药 3 周。实验 2 中，在连续 22 天每天给予 20mg·kg(-1)·d(-1)的皮质酮（皮下注射）后，给予相同剂量的 GTS。在两个实验中，小鼠分别于第 20 天和第 21 天进行强迫游泳试验和悬尾试验，第 22 天处死。实验 1 的结果表明，GTS（50 和 25mg·kg(-1)·d(-1)）表现出抗抑郁活性，而海马脑源性神经营养因子（BDNF）和神经丝轻链（NF-L）的蛋白水平没有统计学改变。实验 2 的结果显示，GTS（50 和 25mg·kg(-1)·d(-1)）改善了抑郁样行为，而没有使皮质醇过度升高正常化。GTS 处理逆转了皮质酮诱导的 BDNF 和 NF-L mRNA 水平以及 BDNF、NF-L、磷酸化 cAMP 反应元件结合蛋白（Ser133）和磷酸化糖原合酶激酶-3β（Ser9）蛋白水平的变化。这些发现表明，GTS 对皮质酮诱导的抑郁样行为的影响可能部分通过干扰海马 GSK-3β-CREB 信号通路和逆转一些与可塑性相关蛋白的减少来介导。
