withaferin-a and Amnesia

Our earlier report on scopolamine-induced amnesia and its improvement by pre-treatment with i-Extract (alcoholic extract of Ashwagandha leaf) suggested that the i-Extract mediated nootropic effect may involve neuronal immediate early gene, Arc. With a hypothesis that the i-Extract induced expression of Arc protein may cause augmentation in Arc function, we examined the effect of i-extract on a major function of Arc protein, i.e. F-actin expansion, using Arc antisense oligodeoxynucleotides (ODN). Stereotaxic infusion of Arc antisense ODN in the CA1 region of hippocampus decreased the level of Arc protein as demonstrated by immunoblotting. However, this decrease was attenuated when treated with i-Extract prior to infusion of Arc antisense ODN. We noted a significant decrease in the polymerization of F-actin during scopolamine-induced amnesia as well as Arc antisense ODN infusion that was restored rather enhanced when pre-treated with i-Extract in both the cases. We also compared the corresponding changes between CA1 (the infusion site) and CA3 (neighbouring site of infusion) regions of hippocampus, and found more pronounced effects in CA1 than in the CA3 region. The extent of F-actin polymerization, as revealed by changes in the dendritic spine architecture through Golgi staining, showed that both scopolamine as well as Arc antisense ODN disrupted the spine density and mushroom-shaped morphology that was again regained if pre-treated with i-Extract. In conclusion, the findings reveal that the Arc helps in polymerization of F-actin and subsequent changes in the morphology of dendritic spines after pre-treatment with i-Extract in scopolamine-induced amnesic mice, suggesting an important role of Arc in scopolamine-induced amnesia and its recovery by i-Extract.

Topics: Actins; Alcohols; Amnesia; Animals; Blotting, Western; Cytoskeletal Proteins; Dendritic Spines; Down-Regulation; Fluorescent Antibody Technique; Hippocampus; Male; Mice; Nerve Tissue Proteins; Neuroprotective Agents; Plant Extracts; Plant Leaves; Polymerization; Staining and Labeling; Stereotaxic Techniques

Arc (Activity-regulated cytoskeletal-associated protein) is a member of the immediate-early gene (IEG) family protein. Because of its critical role in learning and memory, it is widely considered to be an important protein in synaptic plasticity and related neurobiological functions. Alcoholic extract of Ashwagandha leaves (i-Extract) was recently shown to have preventive and therapeutic potential for scopolamine-induced amnesia and glutamate-induced excitotoxicity. In the present study, we investigated the involvement of Arc in scopolamine-induced amnesia and its recovery by i-Extract with particular focus to the changes in Arc expression in the hippocampus and cerebral cortex of mice. Morris water maze test showed that spatial learning and memory of mice were drastically reduced by scopolamine administration but improved with i-Extract treatment as compared to control and scopolamine-challenged mice. Molecular analysis revealed a remarkable decline in Arc expression in both hippocampus and cerebral cortex of amnesic mice, which was recovered after i-Extract treatment. Interestingly, Arc expression showed better recovery in the hippocampus than the cerebral cortex and the pre-treatment with i-Extract was more effective than the post-treatment. These findings suggest that Arc may be involved in i-Extract mediated recovery from amnesia.

Topics: Amnesia; Animals; Cerebral Cortex; Cytoskeletal Proteins; Hippocampus; Male; Maze Learning; Mice; Nerve Tissue Proteins; Plant Extracts; Scopolamine; Withania