Dongwook Son

Alkaloid fraction of Uncaria rhynchophylla protects against N-methyl-d-aspartate-induced apoptosis in rat hippocampal slices

Uncaria rhynchophylla is a medicinal herb which has sedative and anticonvulsive effects and has been applied in the treatment of epilepsy in Oriental medicine. In this study, the effect of alkaloid fraction of U. rhynchophylla against N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA)-induced neuronal cell death was investigated. Pretreatment with an alkaloid fraction of U. rhynchophylla for 1 h decreased the degree of neuronal damage induced by NMDA exposure in cultured hippocampal slices and also inhibited NMDA-induced enhanced expressions of apoptosis-related genes such as c-jun, p53, and bax. In the present study, the alkaloid fraction of U. rhynchophylla was shown to have a protective property against NMDA-induced cytotoxicity by suppressing the NMDA-induced apoptosis in rat hippocampal slices.

Excessive production of nitric oxide induces the neuronal cell death in lipopolysaccharide-treated rat hippocampal slice culture.

In this study, we investigated the role of nitric oxide (NO) in neuronal cell death in the lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-treated rat hippocampal slice culture. Neuronal cell death was induced after a LPS treatment in a rat hippocampal slice. The region and time course of the cell death caused by LPS were different from those by N-methyl-D-aspartate. Cell death was inhibited when the slice was co-treated with both LPS and N-monomethyl-L-arginine, a nitric oxide synthase inhibitor. On the other hand, sodium nitroprusside, a NO donor, induced cell death significantly. A reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction and Western analysis showed that inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) was induced in the LPS-treated hippocampal slice culture. These results suggest that NO produced by iNOS is a major mediator of cell death in LPS-treated hippocampal slice culture.

3-[2-(3,5-Dimethoxyphenyl)vinyl]furan protects hippocampal neurons against ischemic damage

Resveratrol, an ingredient in grapes, has been reported to exhibit anti-cancer activity, anti-inflammatory activity, and cardiovascular protection property. Interestingly, resveratrol has been recently reported to have neuroprotective effect. This study reports the neuroprotective effect of a resveratrol derivative, 3-[2-(3,5-dimethoxyphenyl)vinyl]furan (DPVF). This synthetic DPVF conferred more protection than resveratrol against neuronal cell damage induced by oxygen and glucose deprivation in a rat hippocampal slice culture. In addition, DPVF inhibited ATP depletion following oxygen and glucose deprivation in the adult hippocampal slice. Moreover, we found that DPVF is neuroprotective against ischemic damage in rats. DPVF showed potent neuroprotection on a 4-velssel-occusion model and inhibited iron-induced malondialdehyde (MDA) formation in the rat brain tissue. These results demonstrate that DPVF might be a useful agent in reducing ischemic neuronal damage.