Pharmacologic activation of cholinergic alpha7 nicotinic receptors mitigates depressive-like behavior in a mouse model of chronic stress.

Background: It has been shown that chronic stress-induced depression is associated with exaggerated inflammatory response in the brain. Alpha7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (α7nAChRs) regulate the cholinergic anti-inflammatory pathway, but the role of cholinergic signaling and α7nAChR in chronic stress has not yet been examined.

Methods: In this study, we used a well-documented model of depression in which mice were exposed to 6 h of restraint stress for 21 consecutive days.

TLR3 ligand Poly IC Attenuates Reactive Astrogliosis and Improves Recovery of Rats after Focal Cerebral Ischemia.

Aims: Brain ischemia activates astrocytes in a process known as astrogliosis. Although this process has beneficial effects, excessive astrogliosis can impair neuronal recovery. Polyinosinic-polycytidylic acid (Poly IC) has shown neuroprotection against cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury, but whether it regulates reactive astrogliosis and glial scar formation is not clear.

Astrocytic Toll-like receptor 3 is associated with ischemic preconditioning-induced protection against brain ischemia in rodents.

Background: Cerebral ischemic preconditioning (IPC) protects brain against ischemic injury. Activation of Toll-like receptor 3 (TLR3) signaling can induce neuroprotective mediators, but whether astrocytic TLR3 signaling is involved in IPC-induced ischemic tolerance is not known.

Methods: IPC was modeled in mice with three brief episodes of bilateral carotid occlusion.

Geraniin induces apoptotic cell death in human lung adenocarcinoma A549 cells in vitro and in vivo.

Geraniin has previously been reported to possess extensive biological activity. In this study, we reported that geraniin is an inhibitor of tumor activity in vitro and in vivo. Geraniin suppressed the proliferation of A549 cells in a dose- and time-dependent manner.