echinacoside and Parkinson-Disease

To study the protective effect of Echinacoside for 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP) induced dopaminergic (DA) neurons injury in the subacute mouse model of Parkinson's disease (PD) and to explore its mechanism of action.. We chose 10 weeks of healthy wild type C57BL/6 male mice, hypodermic MPTP 30 mg/kg/day, five days, to prepare PD subacute mouse model. Behavior indexes of open field test and pole test were applied to examine the function of ECH to PD subacute mice model of PD sample action. The effects of ECH on dopaminergic neurons and astrocyte were examined using Immunohistochemistry including tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) and glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) expression. The total numbers of TH-positive neurons and GFAP-positive cells in the substantia nigra pars compacts (SNpc) and ventral tegmental area (VTA) were obtained stereologically using the optical fractionator method. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) method was used to detect the inflammatory cytokines in the serum, including TNF-. ECH reversed the reduction of total distance in open field test in MPTP-induced PD model mice (P < 0.01), shortened the return time and total time of PD subacute model mice in pole test (P < 0.01, P < 0.05), significantly reversed the reduction of TH positive neurons induced by MPTP (P < 0.05), and reduced the activation of astrocytes (P < 0.05). Meanwhile, ECH significantly inhibited the expression of IBA-1, Cleaved caspase-3, and TNF-. ECH has protective effects on the MPTP subacute model mice, its mechanism may be through inhibiting activation of microglia and astrocytes, reducing inflammatory reaction and promoting the secretion of neurotrophic factors, and eventually resulting in the reduction of the DA neurons apoptosis.

Topics: Animals; Calcium-Binding Proteins; Caspase 3; Corpus Striatum; Disease Models, Animal; Dopaminergic Neurons; Gene Expression Regulation; Glial Fibrillary Acidic Protein; Glycosides; Humans; Immunohistochemistry; Mice; Microfilament Proteins; Microglia; MPTP Poisoning; Neuroprotective Agents; Parkinson Disease; Substantia Nigra; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha; Tyrosine 3-Monooxygenase

To observe the protective effects of echinacoside on rotenone-induced damages in rats.. Healthy male Sprague-Dawley rats, weighing from 200 to 220 g, were randomly divided into five groups with 20 rats in each group: control group, rotenone group and echinacoside groups of low, medium and high doses (20, 40 and 80 mg/(kg·d)). Rats in the rotenone group were injected intraperitoneally for four weeks with rotenone (2.75 mg/(kg·d)), dissolved into dimethyl sulfoxide; rats in the control group were injected intraperitoneally with dimethyl sulfoxide daily, and rats in the echinacoside groups received daily intraperitoneal injection of rotenone along with echinacoside gastric perfusion for four weeks. Modified neurological severity score was used to evaluate neurobehavior of the animals; dopaminergic neurons in substantia nigra were observed by immunochemical method and dopamine concentration in striatum was determined by a fluorescence spectrophotometer. Biomarkers of liver and kidney damage were also measured.. In the rotenone group, the rats suffered from severe neurological disability (P<0.01), and the number of dopaminergic neurons in substantia nigra and dopamine concentration in striatum were decreased (P<0.05) compared with the normal control group; levels of the biomarkers for evaluating liver and kidney damage were increased (P<0.05). In the echinacoside groups, the neurological disability and the loss of dopaminergic neurons in substantia nigra were suppressed and dopamine concentrations in striatum were increased (P<0.05), but the liver and kidney damage was not improved (P>0.05).. Rotenone causes severe damages to dopaminergic neurons, liver and kidney in rats and echinacoside selectively reverses dopaminergic neuronal injury.

Topics: Animals; Disease Models, Animal; Dopaminergic Neurons; Glycosides; Male; Neuroprotective Agents; Parkinson Disease; Random Allocation; Rats; Rats, Sprague-Dawley; Rotenone