%0 Journal Article
%T Neuroprotection of aucubin in primary diabetic encephalopathy<br>
%A XUE HongYu
%A JIN LiJi
%A JIN Lei
%A ZHANG Peng
%A LI DanQing
%A XIA YanQiu
%A LU YaNan &
%A XU YongPing
%A <br>
%J 中国科学C辑(英文版)
%D 2008
%I Springer
%X Hippocampal neuronal apoptosis accompanied by impairment of cognitive function occurs in primary diabetic encephalopathy. In this study, we investigated the neuroprotective mechanism of the iridoid glycoside, aucubin, using rats (n=8). Diabetes mellitus was induced in the rats by intraperitoneal (i.p.) injection of streptozotocin (60 mg/kg body weight). After 65 d, half of the DM rats were administered aucubin (5 mg/kg; i.p.) for 15 d, yielding treatment DM A. A third group of rats received no strepto- zotocin or aucibin, and served as controls (CON). Encephalopathy was assessed using Y-maze be- havioral testing. Rats were euthanized on Day 87, and hippocampi were excised for visual (light and transmission electron microscopic) and immunochemical (Western blot; immunohistochemical) as- sessments of the CA1 subfield for apoptosis and expression of regulatory proteins Bcl-2 and Bax. Treatment responses to all the parameters examined (body weight, plasma glucose, Y-maze error rates, pyramidal cell ultrastructure, proportions of apoptotic cells, levels of expression of Bcl-2 and Bax, and survivability of neuronal cells) were identical: there were highly significant differences between DM and CON groups (P<0.001), but the effects were significantly moderated (P<0.01) in DM A compared with DM. These findings confirm the association of apoptosis with the encephalopathic effects of diabetes mellitus, and suggest a major role of the expression levels of Bcl-2 and Bax in the regulation of apop- totic cell death. All of the results suggest that aucubin could effectively inhibit apoptosis by modulating the expressions of Bcl-2 and Bax genes.
%K aucubin
%K diabetic encephalopathy
%K neuroprotection
%K apoptosis
%K hippocampus<br>
%U http://www.alljournals.cn/get_abstract_url.aspx?pcid=90BA3D13E7F3BC869AC96FB3DA594E3FE34FBF7B8BC0E591&jid=180CF3A72E750F3261A8A60EDC957784&aid=A669352BA5E085056D962BF3762EBBCF&yid=67289AFF6305E306&vid=987EDA49D8A7A635&iid=B31275AF3241DB2D&sid=DDDA4F26E8AD3C0E&eid=51F9E747BA1ACB45&journal_id=1674-7305&journal_name=ScienceChina.Lifesciences&referenced_num=2&reference_num=0