Berberine induces heme oxygenase-1 up-regulation through phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase/AKT and NF-E2-related factor-2 signaling pathway in astrocytes.

Our previous report has shown that berberine effectively inhibits LPS- and IFN-γ-induced neuroinflammation in microglia cells. Recently, we also reported that HO-1 (Heme oxygenase-1) may be a therapeutic target to regulate neuroinflammation in microglia cells. The present study examined the ability of berberine, the major constituents of Chinese herb Rhizoma coptidis, to induce expression of HO-1, and analyzed its signaling mechanism in rat brain astrocytes.