Department of Emergency, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, 530007, China.
Department of Neurosurgery, Affiliated Hospital of Guilin Medical University, Guilin, 541001, China.
Biomed Pharmacother. 2018 Oct;106:349-354. doi: 10.1016/j.biopha.2018.06.041. Epub 2018 Jul 11.
Traumatic brain injury (TBI) refers to external force-induced brain damage, characterized with necrosis and cell loss in cerebral cortex. Interestingly, a plant-extract named formononetin (FN) is found to possess promising pharmacological activities, including cellular neuroprotection. Thus, we propose that FN may exert biological protection against TBI and discuss the underlying mechanism. In the current study, a rat TBI model was established via Feeney's classical method, followed by different concentrations of FN treatment. Nissl-special and DAPI-labeled stains were utilized to assess the proliferation of cortical neurons nearing lesioned tissue. The contents of interleukin-6 (IL6), tumor necrosis factor (TNF-α), and interleukin-10 (IL10) in serum and the cortical neurons were determined by ELISA. Further, intracephalic IL10 expression levels were detected through immunoassay and RT-PCR. Interestingly, the results exhibited within the FN-treated TBI rat model indicated elevated cortical proliferation. The levels of IL10 in serum and the cortical neurons were increased following FN treatments, while TNF-α and IL6 levels in the blood were decreased. In addition, both mRNA and protein expression levels of IL10 in the FN-treated TBI rat model were up-regulated in a dose-dependent manner. Collectively, our present findings indicate that FN provides effective neuroprotection against TBI, likely by activating IL10 expression in cortical neurons nearing lesioned tissue to inhibit neuroinflammatory reaction.
创伤性脑损伤（TBI）是指外力引起的脑损伤，其特征是大脑皮层出现坏死和细胞丢失。有趣的是，一种名为芒柄花素（FN）的植物提取物被发现具有有前途的药理活性，包括细胞神经保护作用。因此，我们提出 FN 可能对 TBI 发挥生物保护作用，并探讨其潜在机制。在本研究中，采用 Feeney 的经典方法建立大鼠 TBI 模型，然后用不同浓度的 FN 处理。用尼氏染色和 DAPI 标记染色评估临近损伤组织的皮质神经元的增殖情况。通过 ELISA 测定血清和皮质神经元中白细胞介素 6（IL6）、肿瘤坏死因子（TNF-α）和白细胞介素 10（IL10）的含量。进一步通过免疫测定和 RT-PCR 检测脑内 IL10 表达水平。有趣的是，FN 处理 TBI 大鼠模型中的结果表明皮质增殖增加。FN 处理后，血清和皮质神经元中的 IL10 水平升高，而血液中的 TNF-α和 IL6 水平降低。此外，FN 处理的 TBI 大鼠模型中 IL10 的 mRNA 和蛋白表达水平呈剂量依赖性上调。综上所述，本研究结果表明 FN 对 TBI 提供有效的神经保护作用，可能通过激活临近损伤组织的皮质神经元中的 IL10 表达来抑制神经炎症反应。
