Department of Spine Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, 325035, Zhejiang, China.
Institute of Neuroscience and Institute of Hypoxia Medicine, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, 325035, Zhejiang, China.
Cell Mol Neurobiol. 2018 Apr;38(3):679-690. doi: 10.1007/s10571-017-0527-8. Epub 2017 Jul 31.
Spinal cord injury (SCI) is a devastating neurological disorder. Autophagy is induced and plays a crucial role in SCI. Ginsenoside Rb1 (Rb1), one of the major active components extracted from Panax Ginseng CA Meyer, has exhibited neuroprotective effects in various neurodegenerative diseases. However, it remains unknown whether autophagy is involved in the neuroprotection of Rb1 on SCI. In this study, we examined the regulation of autophagy following Rb1 treatment and its involvement in the Rb1-induced neuroprotection in SCI and in vitro injury model. Firstly, we found that Rb1 treatment decreased the loss of motor neurons and promoted function recovery in the SCI model. Furthermore, we found that Rb1 treatment inhibited autophagy in neurons, and suppressed neuronal apoptosis and autophagic cell death in the SCI model. Finally, in the in vitro injury model, Rb1 treatment increased the viability of PC12 cells and suppressed apoptosis by inhibiting excessive autophagy, whereas stimulation of autophagy by rapamycin abolished the anti-apoptosis effect of Rb1. Taken together, these findings suggest that the inhibition of autophagy is involved in the neuroprotective effects of Rb1 on SCI.
脊髓损伤（SCI）是一种毁灭性的神经系统疾病。自噬被诱导并在 SCI 中发挥关键作用。人参皂苷 Rb1（Rb1）是从 Panax Ginseng CA Meyer 中提取的主要活性成分之一，在各种神经退行性疾病中表现出神经保护作用。然而，尚不清楚自噬是否参与 Rb1 对 SCI 的神经保护作用。在这项研究中，我们研究了 Rb1 处理后自噬的调节及其在 SCI 和体外损伤模型中 Rb1 诱导的神经保护作用中的参与。首先，我们发现 Rb1 处理可减少运动神经元的丢失并促进 SCI 模型中的功能恢复。此外，我们发现 Rb1 处理可抑制神经元中的自噬，并抑制 SCI 模型中的神经元凋亡和自噬性细胞死亡。最后，在体外损伤模型中，Rb1 处理通过抑制过度自噬增加 PC12 细胞的活力并抑制细胞凋亡，而雷帕霉素刺激自噬则消除了 Rb1 的抗细胞凋亡作用。综上所述，这些发现表明自噬的抑制参与了 Rb1 对 SCI 的神经保护作用。
