Sohn Eunjin, Kim Yu Jin, Jeong Soo-Jin
Clinical Medicine Research Division, Korea Institute of Oriental Medicine, Daejeon, Republic of Korea.
Integr Med Res. 2021 Sep;10(3):100723. doi: 10.1016/j.imr.2021.100723. Epub 2021 Mar 30.
Soshiho-tang (SST), also known as Xiaochaihu-tang in China and Sho-saiko-to in Japan, is an Oriental herbal formula traditionally used to treat febrile diseases. Recently, several and studies have reported the anti-cancer, anti-liver disease, and anti-inflammatory activities of SST. However, there is little evidence of its effects on neurological diseases. We previously reported the inhibitory effects of SST on acetylcholinesterase (AChE) activation and amyloid-β (Aβ) aggregation, which are crucial hallmarks of Alzheimer's disease (AD). In the present study, we report that SST has preventive effects on memory impairment and neuronal cell changes in an Aβ-induced AD-like mouse model.
Male mice underwent injection of Aβ aggregates and administered SST (500, 1,000, or 2,000 mg/kg/day) for 20 days. Behavioral tests (passive avoidance task [PAT] and Morris water maze [MWM] test) were conducted. Lastly, brain sections were obtained from sacrificed mice for quantitative analysis.
Intracerebroventricular (ICV) injection of Aβ aggregates significantly decreased the latency time in the PAT and MWM test compared to normal control. In contrast, SST administration markedly reversed the latency caused by Aβ injection. Additionally, our data revealed that SST-mediated improvements in memory impairment are related to its neuroprotective and anti-neuroinflammatory effects. On histological analysis, SST treatment protected neuronal loss and damage as well as microglial activation, and ameliorated amount of Aβ in brain of mouse model of AD.
Our findings suggest that SST may be a promising candidate for the development of novel drugs for AD.
小柴胡汤在中国被称为小柴胡汤，在日本被称为小柴胡汤，是一种传统上用于治疗发热性疾病的东方草药配方。最近，一些研究报告了小柴胡汤的抗癌、抗肝病和抗炎活性。然而，几乎没有证据表明其对神经系统疾病有影响。我们之前报道了小柴胡汤对乙酰胆碱酯酶（AChE）激活和淀粉样β（Aβ）聚集的抑制作用，这是阿尔茨海默病（AD）的关键标志。在本研究中，我们报告小柴胡汤对Aβ诱导的AD样小鼠模型中的记忆障碍和神经元细胞变化具有预防作用。
雄性小鼠注射Aβ聚集体，并给予小柴胡汤（500、1000或2000mg/kg/天），持续20天。进行行为测试（被动回避任务[PAT]和莫里斯水迷宫[MWM]测试）。最后，从处死的小鼠身上获取脑切片进行定量分析。
与正常对照组相比，脑室内（ICV）注射Aβ聚集体显著缩短了PAT和MWM测试中的潜伏期。相比之下，给予小柴胡汤显著逆转了Aβ注射引起的潜伏期。此外，我们的数据表明，小柴胡汤介导的记忆障碍改善与其神经保护和抗神经炎症作用有关。组织学分析显示，小柴胡汤治疗可保护神经元损失和损伤以及小胶质细胞激活，并改善AD小鼠模型脑中的Aβ含量。
我们的研究结果表明，小柴胡汤可能是开发AD新药的有前途的候选药物。
