aconitine and Encephalitis

Sustained neuroinflammation contributes to the pathogenesis of postoperative cognitive dysfunction. Dexmedetomidine, a selective α-2 adrenergic receptor agonist, exhibits a protective role in the brain. This study investigated whether dexmedetomidine pretreatment attenuates neuroinflammation induced by tibial fracture in rats, as well as the mechanism by which dexmedetomidine provides its neuroprotection. In our study, we observed that tibial fracture significantly increased the levels of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and interleukin-1β (IL-1β) and the expression of nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB) in the hippocampus. Overexpression of microglial (CD11b) and astrocytic (GFAP) responses to injury were observed in the hippocampus. Dexmedetomidine pretreatment significantly suppressed the inflammatory responses, as evidenced by lower TNF-α and IL-1β levels, significantly inhibited NF-κB activity, and alleviated overexpression of microglia and astrocytes in the hippocampus. However, pretreatment with dexmedetomidine failed to attenuate cytokine responses and activity of NF-κB, CD11b and GFAP after vagotomy or treatment with methyllycaconitine, an α-7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (α7nAChR) antagonist. These results suggest that pretreatment with dexmedetomidine may attenuate neuroinflammation caused by tibial fracture in rats through vagal-dependent and α7nAChR-dependent mechanisms.

Topics: Aconitine; Adrenergic alpha-2 Receptor Agonists; alpha7 Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptor; Animals; Astrocytes; Dexmedetomidine; Disease Models, Animal; Encephalitis; Hippocampus; Interleukin-1beta; Male; Microglia; Neuroprotective Agents; NF-kappa B; Rats; Rats, Sprague-Dawley; Tibial Fractures; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha

This study investigated the influence of the cholinergic system on neuro-inflammation using nicotinic and muscarinic receptor agonists and antagonists. Intracerebroventricular (ICV) injection of lipopolysaccharide (LPS, 50 microg) was used to induce neuro-inflammation in rats and estimations of pro-inflammatory cytokines, alpha7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) mRNA expression were done in striatum, cerebral cortex, hippocampus and hypothalamus at 24 h after LPS injection. Nicotine (0.2, 0.4 and 0.8 mg/kg, i.p.) or oxotremorine (0.2, 0.4 and 0.8 mg/kg, i.p.) were administered 2 h prior to sacrifice. We found that only nicotine was able to block the proinflammatory cytokines induced by LPS whereas, oxotremorine was found ineffective. Methyllycaconitine (MLA; 1.25, 2.5 and 5 mg/kg, i.p.), an alpha7 nAChR antagonist or dihydro-beta-erythroidine (DHbetaE; 1.25, 2.5 and 5 mg/kg, i.p.), an alpha4beta2 nAChR antagonist, was given 20 min prior to nicotine in LPS-treated rats. Methyllycaconitine antagonized the anti-inflammatory effect of nicotine whereas DHbetaE showed no effect demonstrating that alpha7 nAChR is responsible for attenuation of LPS-induced pro-inflammatory cytokines. This study suggests that the inhibitory role of the central cholinergic system on neuro-inflammation is mediated via alpha7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor and muscarinic receptors are not involved.

Topics: Aconitine; alpha7 Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptor; Animals; Brain; Cytokines; Dihydro-beta-Erythroidine; Encephalitis; Gene Expression Regulation; Inflammation Mediators; Lipopolysaccharides; Neuroimmunomodulation; Nicotine; Nicotinic Agonists; Nicotinic Antagonists; Oxotremorine; Rats; Rats, Sprague-Dawley; Receptors, Nicotinic