Yadollahi-Farsani Yasaman, Vanani Vahid Reisi, Lorigooini Zahra, Farahzad Anahita, Amini-Khoei Hossein
Medical Plants Research Center, Basic Health Sciences Institute, Shahrekord University of Medical Sciences, Shahrekord, Iran.
IBRO Neurosci Rep. 2023 Nov 28;16:1-7. doi: 10.1016/j.ibneur.2023.11.009. eCollection 2024 Jun.
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodegenerative disease with increasing incidence in the world. The maternal separation (MS) stress at early life with its own neuroendocrine and neurostructural changes can provide the basis for development of ASD. Previously it has been reported neuroprotective characteristics for anethole. The PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling pathway has pivotal role in the function of central nervous system (CNS). This study aimed to evaluate the possible effects of anethole on the autistic-like behaviors in the maternally separated (MS) mice focusing on the potential role of the PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway. Forty male Naval Medical Research Institute (NMRI) mice were assigned to five groups (n = 8) comprising a control group (treated with normal saline) and four groups subjected to MS and treated with normal saline and or anethole at doses of 31.25, 62.5 and 125 mg/kg, respectively. All gents were administrated via intraperitoneal (i.p.) route for 14 constant days. Behavioral tests were conducted, including the three-chamber test, shuttle box and resident-intruder test. The gene expression of the PI3K, AKT and mTOR assessed in the hippocampus by qRT-PCR. Findings indicated that MS is associated with autistic-like behaviors. Anethole increased the sociability and social preference indexes in the three-chamber test, increased duration of secondary latency in the shuttle box test and decreased aggressive behaviors in the resident-intruder test. Also, anethole increased the gene expression of PI3K, AKT and mTOR in the hippocampus of MS mice. We concluded that anethole through increase in the gene expression of PI3K/ AKT/mTOR mitigated autistic-like behaviors induced by MS in mice.
自闭症谱系障碍（ASD）是一种在全球发病率不断上升的神经退行性疾病。早期生活中的母婴分离（MS）应激及其自身的神经内分泌和神经结构变化可为ASD的发展提供基础。此前已有报道称茴香脑具有神经保护特性。PI3K/AKT/mTOR信号通路在中枢神经系统（CNS）的功能中起关键作用。本研究旨在评估茴香脑对母婴分离（MS）小鼠自闭症样行为的可能影响，重点关注PI3K/AKT/mTOR通路的潜在作用。将40只雄性海军医学研究所（NMRI）小鼠分为五组（n = 8），包括一个对照组（用生理盐水处理）和四组接受MS处理并分别用31.25、62.5和125 mg/kg剂量的生理盐水和/或茴香脑处理的组。所有药物均通过腹腔内（i.p.）途径连续给药14天。进行了行为测试，包括三室测试、穿梭箱测试和定居者-入侵者测试。通过qRT-PCR评估海马中PI3K、AKT和mTOR的基因表达。结果表明，MS与自闭症样行为有关。茴香脑增加了三室测试中的社交性和社交偏好指数，增加了穿梭箱测试中的二次潜伏期持续时间，并减少了定居者-入侵者测试中的攻击行为。此外，茴香脑增加了MS小鼠海马中PI3K、AKT和mTOR的基因表达。我们得出结论，茴香脑通过增加PI3K/AKT/mTOR的基因表达减轻了MS诱导的小鼠自闭症样行为。
