Ginsenoside Rh2 reduces ischemic brain injury in rats.

Ginseng was incubated under mildly acidic conditions and its inhibitory effect on a rat ischemia-reperfusion model was investigated. When ginseng was treated with 0.1% hydrochloric acid at 60 degrees C, its protopanaxadiol saponins were transformed to diasteromeric ginsenoside Rg3 and Delta20-ginsenoside Rg3.

BH3-only protein Noxa is a mediator of hypoxic cell death induced by hypoxia-inducible factor 1alpha.

Hypoxia is a common cause of cell death and is implicated in many disease processes including stroke and chronic degenerative disorders. In response to hypoxia, cells express a variety of genes, which allow adaptation to altered metabolic demands, decreased oxygen demands, and the removal of irreversibly damaged cells. Using polymerase chain reaction-based suppression subtractive hybridization to find genes that are differentially expressed in hypoxia, we identified the BH3-only Bcl-2 family protein Noxa.

Microglial activation and tyrosine hydroxylase immunoreactivity in the substantia nigral region following transient focal ischemia in rats.

The temporal profiles of the changes of dopaminergic cells and microglial activation induced by transient cerebral ischemia were investigated in the substantia nigra pars compacta (SNc) located outside ischemic areas of rat brain. Transient cerebral ischemia was induced by intraluminal occlusion of the right middle cerebral artery for 2 h and reperfusion was continued for 1, 2, 3, 4, 7, 10, 14, 28, 60, and 120 days. Dopaminergic cells immunostained with tyrosine hydroxylase (TH)-antibody in the ipsilateral SNc were significantly decreased at 7 days post-ischemia compared with those in the contralateral side (P<0.

Induction of matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) in lipopolysaccharide-stimulated primary astrocytes is mediated by extracellular signal-regulated protein kinase 1/2 (Erk1/2).

In the present study, we investigated whether the activation of protein kinase C (PKC) and extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2 (Erk1/2) are involved in the induction of MMP-9 in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated primary astrocytes. The expression of MMP-9 but not MMP-2 was increased by LPS. LPS treatment induced activation of Erk1/2 within 30 min, which was dose-dependently inhibited by PD98059, a specific inhibitor of the Erk kinase (MEK).

Hwangryun-Hae-Dok-tang (Huanglian-Jie-Du-Tang) extract and its constituents reduce ischemia-reperfusion brain injury and neutrophil infiltration in rats.

The preventive effect of Hwangryun-Hae-Dok-tang (HHDT, Huanglian-Jie-Du-Tang), a Chinese herbal medicine, and its ingredients on ischemia/reperfusion-induced brain injury was evaluated in the rat brain. HHDT consists of four herbs, namely, Coptidis rhizoma, Scutellariae radix, Phellodendri cortex, and Gardeniae fructus. Ischemia was induced by intraluminal occlusion of the right middle cerebral artery for 120 min and reperfusion was continued for 22 h.

p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase mediates lipopolysaccharide, not interferon-gamma, -induced inducible nitric oxide synthase expression in mouse BV2 microglial cells.

The present study examined the role of mitogen - activated protein kinases (MAPKs) in inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) induction by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) or interferon - gamma (IFN - gamma) in the murine microglial cell line BV2 cells. LPS rapidly (<2 h) induced iNOS mRNA expression whereas IFN - gamma did not within 8 h after stimulation. LPS activated three MAPK subtypes, extracellular signal - regulated kinase (ERK), p38 and c - Jun N - terminal kinase (JNK) as early as 15 min after stimulation.