Zhang Changjing, Zhu Leilei, Lu Shuaifei, Li Mengyuan, Bai Ming, Li Yucheng, Xu Erping
Henan Key Laboratory for Modern Research on Zhongjing's Herbal Formulae, Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Henan University of Chinese Medicine, Zhengzhou 450046, PR China; College of Pharmacy, Henan University of Chinese Medicine, Zhengzhou 450046, PR China.
Henan Key Laboratory for Modern Research on Zhongjing's Herbal Formulae, Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Henan University of Chinese Medicine, Zhengzhou 450046, PR China.
Brain Res. 2022 May 15;1783:147844. doi: 10.1016/j.brainres.2022.147844. Epub 2022 Feb 23.
Previous studies reported the neuroprotective effects of formononetin (FMN), however, whether it has antidepressant-like effects have not been reported. To evaluate the antidepressant-like effects of FMN, a mice model of depression was established by chronic corticosterone (CORT) injection. The serum corticosterone levels and hippocampal protein expression were detected by ELISA and Western blot. Nissl staining was used to observe the damage of hippocampal neurons and immunofluorescence was used to observe the neurogenesis in the hippocampus. Our results showed that FMN significantly increased the sucrose preference and shorten the immobility time in the forced swimming test in CORT-treated mice. Moreover, FMN reduced the serum corticosterone levels, upregulated the protein expression levels of the glucocorticoid receptor (GR), and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) in the hippocampus, protected against the CORT-induced neuronal impairment, and promoted the neurogenesis in the hippocampus. Taken together, the present study was the first to demonstrate the antidepressant-like effects of FMN in the CORT-induced mice model of depression, which may contribute to the discovery of a new candidate for treating depression.
以往的研究报道了芒柄花黄素（FMN）的神经保护作用，然而，其是否具有抗抑郁样作用尚未见报道。为评估FMN的抗抑郁样作用，通过慢性注射皮质酮（CORT）建立了小鼠抑郁模型。采用酶联免疫吸附测定（ELISA）和蛋白质免疫印迹法检测血清皮质酮水平和海马蛋白表达。采用尼氏染色观察海马神经元损伤情况，采用免疫荧光法观察海马神经发生情况。我们的结果显示，FMN显著提高了CORT处理小鼠在强迫游泳试验中的蔗糖偏好，并缩短了不动时间。此外，FMN降低了血清皮质酮水平，上调了海马中糖皮质激素受体（GR）和脑源性神经营养因子（BDNF）的蛋白表达水平，保护小鼠免受CORT诱导的神经元损伤，并促进海马神经发生。综上所述，本研究首次证明了FMN在CORT诱导的小鼠抑郁模型中具有抗抑郁样作用，这可能有助于发现一种治疗抑郁症的新候选药物。
