?-Asarone Rescues Pb-Induced Impairments of Spatial Memory and Synaptogenesis in Rats.
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ABSTRACT: Chronic lead (Pb) exposure causes cognitive deficits. This study aimed to explore the neuroprotective effect and mechanism of ?-asarone, an active component from Chinese Herbs Acorus tatarinowii Schott, to alleviate impairments of spatial memory and synaptogenesis in Pb-exposed rats. Both Sprague-Dawley developmental rat pups and adult rats were used in the study. Developmental rat pups were exposed to Pb throughout the lactation period and ?-asarone (10, 40mg kg-1, respectively) was given intraperitoneally from postnatal day 14 to 21. Also, the adult rats were exposed to Pb from embryo stage to 11 weeks old and ?-asarone (2.5, 10, 40mg kg-1, respectively) was given from 9 to 11 weeks old. The level of ?-asarone in brain tissue was measured by High Performance Liquid Chromatography. The Morris water maze test and Golgi-Cox staining method were used to assess spatial memory ability and synaptogenesis. The protein expression of NR2B subunit of NMDA receptor, Activity-regulated cytoskeleton-associated protein (Arc/Arg3.1) and Wnt family member 7A (Wnt7a) in hippocampus, as well as mRNA expression of Arc/Arg3.1 and Wnt7a, was also explored. We found that ?-asarone could pass through the blood brain barrier quickly. And ?-asarone effectively attenuated Pb-induced reduction of spine density in hippocampal CA1 and dentate gyrus areas in a dose-dependent manner both in developmental and adult rats, meanwhile the Pb-induced impairments of learning and memory were partially rescued. In addition, ?-asarone effectively up-regulated the protein expression of NR2B, Arc and Wnt7a, as well as the mRNA levels of Arc/Arg3.1 and Wnt7a, which had been suppressed by Pb exposure. The results suggest the neuroprotective properties of ?-asarone against Pb-induced memory impairments, and the effect is possibly through the regulation of synaptogenesis, which is mediated via Arc/Arg3.1 and Wnt pathway.
SUBMITTER: Yang QQ
PROVIDER: S-EPMC5147873 | biostudies-literature | 2016
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
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