Chen Lin, Wang Xin, Lin Zi-Xuan, Dai Jian-Guo, Huang Yu-Fang, Zhao Yu-Nan
College of Medicine and Life Sciences, Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, 210023, China.
Phytother Res. 2017 Sep;31(9):1341-1348. doi: 10.1002/ptr.5859. Epub 2017 Jun 28.
To further explore the underlying antidepressant mechanism of ginseng total saponins (GTS), this study observed the effects on hippocampal astrocyte structural plasticity and hippocampal volume in the corticosterone-induced mouse depression model. Corticosterone (20 mg/kg/day) was administered subcutaneously for 5 weeks, and GTS (12.5, 25, and 50 mg/kg/day; namely GTSL, GTSM, and GTSH) or fluoxetine (10 mg/kg/day) were given intragastrically during the last 3 weeks. On day 33 and day 34, depression-like behavior was observed via a forced swimming test and a tail suspension test, respectively. At 6 h after the last dose of corticosterone (day 35), all mice were sacrificed followed by serum corticosterone assays, stereological analysis of hippocampal glial fibrillary acidic protein-positive (GFAP ) astroctyes and hippocampal volume, and hippocampal glycogen tests. Results showed that all doses of GTS ameliorated depression-like behavior and the decrease in hippocampal glycogen without normalizing hypercortisolism. Moreover, GTSH and GTSM reversed the corticosterone-induced reduction in the total number of hippocampal GFAP astrocytes and hippocampal volume. Additionally, GTSH alleviated the diminished protrusion length and somal volume of GFAP astrocytes induced by corticosterone. These findings imply that the effects of GTS on corticosterone-induced depression-like behavior may be mediated partly through the protection to hippocampal astrocyte structural plasticity. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
为进一步探究人参总皂苷（GTS）潜在的抗抑郁机制，本研究在皮质酮诱导的小鼠抑郁模型中观察了其对海马星形胶质细胞结构可塑性和海马体积的影响。皮下注射皮质酮（20 mg/kg/天），持续5周，在最后3周内灌胃给予GTS（12.5、25和50 mg/kg/天，即GTSL、GTSM和GTSH）或氟西汀（10 mg/kg/天）。分别在第33天和第34天，通过强迫游泳试验和悬尾试验观察抑郁样行为。在最后一剂皮质酮给药后6小时（第35天），处死所有小鼠，随后进行血清皮质酮测定、对海马胶质纤维酸性蛋白阳性（GFAP）星形胶质细胞和海马体积进行体视学分析以及海马糖原检测。结果显示，所有剂量的GTS均改善了抑郁样行为和海马糖原的减少，但未使高皮质醇血症恢复正常。此外，GTSH和GTSM逆转了皮质酮诱导的海马GFAP星形胶质细胞总数和海马体积的减少。另外，GTSH减轻了皮质酮诱导的GFAP星形胶质细胞突起长度和胞体体积的减小。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是通过对海马星形胶质细胞结构可塑性的保护来介导的。版权所有© 2017约翰威立父子有限公司。
