• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.115-120
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• 2018

Chronic cerebral hypoperfusion (CCH), which is associated with onset of vascular dementia, causes cognitive impairment and neuropathological alterations in the brain. In the present study, we examined the neuroprotective effect of duloxetine (DXT), a potent and balanced serotonin/norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor, on CCH-induced neuronal damage in the hippocampal CA1 region using a rat model of permanent bilateral common carotid arteries occlusion. We found that treatment with 20 mg/kg DXT could attenuate the neuronal damage, the reduction of phosphorylations of mTOR and p70S6K as well as the elevations of $TNF-{\alpha}$ and $IL-1{\beta}$ levels in the hippocampal CA1 region at 28 days following CCH. These results indicate that DXT displays the neuroprotective effect against CCH-induced hippocampal neuronal death, and that neuroprotective effect of DXT may be closely related with the attenuations of CCH-induced decrease of mTOR/p70S6K signaling pathway as well as CCH-induced neuroinflammatory process.

• The Korea Journal of Herbology
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• v.31 no.6
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• pp.73-81
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• 2016

Objectives : $18{\beta}$-Glycyrrhetinic acid (18betaGA) is an metabolite of glycyrrhizin in Glycyrrhiza (licorice). The present study investigated anti-inflammatory and anti-apoptosis effect of 18betaGA on the brain tissue of lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-treated C57BL/6 mice. Methods : 18betaGA was administered orally with low (30 mg/kg) and high (100 mg/kg) doses for 3 days prior to LPS (3 mg/kg) injection. Pro-inflammatory cytokines mRNA including tumor necrosis factor-${\alpha}$ (TNF-${\alpha}$), interleukin (IL)-$1{\beta}$, IL-6, and inflammatory enzyme cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) mRNA were measured in the cerebral cortex, hippocampus, and hypothalamus tissue using real-time polymerase chain reaction at 24 h after the LPS injection. Histological changes of Cornu ammonis area 1 (CA1) neurons, Bax, Bcl-2, and caspase-3 expression in the hippocampus was also evaluated by immunohistochemistry and Western blotting method. Results : 18betaGA significantly attenuated the up-regulation of TNF-${\alpha}$, IL-$1{\beta}$, IL-6 mRNA, and COX-2 mRNA expression in the brain tissues induced by the LPS injection. 18betaGA also significantly attenuated the reductions of the thickness of CA1 and the number of CA1 neurons. The up-regulation of Bax protein expression in the hippocampal tissue by the LPS injection was significantly attenuated, while the ratio of Bcl-2/Bax expression was increased by 18betaGA treatment. 18betaGA also significantly attenuated the up-regulation of Bax and caspase-3 expression in the CA1 of the hippocampus. Conclusion : This results indicate that 18betaGA has anti-inflammatory and anti-apoptosis effect under neuroinflammation induced by the LPS injection and suggest that 18betaGA may be a beneficial drug for various brain diseases accompanied with the brain tissue inflammation.