Abstract
Aim:
Ferulic acid (4-hydroxy-3-methoxycinnamic acid, FA) provides neuroprotection against apoptosis in a transient middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAo) model. This study was to further investigate the anti-apoptotic effect of FA during reperfusion after cerebral ischemia.
Methods:
Rats were subjected to 90 min of cerebral ischemia followed by 3 or 24 h of reperfusion after which they were sacrificed.
Results:
Intravenous FA (100 mg/kg) administered immediately after middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAo) or 2 h after reperfusion effectively abrogated the elevation of postsynaptic density-95 (PSD-95), neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS), inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), nitrotyrosine, and cleaved caspase-3 levels as well as apoptosis in the ischemic cortex at 24 h of reperfusion. FA further inhibited Bax translocation, cytochrome c release, and p38 mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase phosphorylation. Moreover, FA enhanced the expression of gamma-aminobutyric acid type B receptor subunit 1 (GABAB1) in the ischemic cortex at 3 and 24 h of reperfusion. In addition, nitrotyrosine-positive cells colocalized with cleaved caspase-3-positive cells, and phospho-p38 MAP kinase-positive cells colocalized with nitrotyrosine- and Bax-positive cells, indicating a positive relationship among the expression of nitrotyrosine, phospho-p38 MAP kinase, Bax, and cleaved caspase-3. The mutually exclusive expression of GABAB1 and nitrotyrosine revealed that there is a negative correlation between GABAB1 and nitrotyrosine expression profiles. Additionally, pretreatment with saclofen, a GABAB receptor antagonist, abolished the neuroprotection of FA against nitric oxide (NO)-induced apoptosis.
Conclusion:
FA significantly enhances GABAB1 receptor expression at early reperfusion and thereby provides neuroprotection against p38 MAP kinase-mediated NO-induced apoptosis at 24 h of reperfusion.
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Acknowledgements
This study was supported in part by Taiwan Department of Health Clinical Trial and Research Center of Excellence (DOH99-TD-B-111-004).
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Cheng, Cy., Su, Sy., Tang, Ny. et al. Ferulic acid inhibits nitric oxide-induced apoptosis by enhancing GABAB1 receptor expression in transient focal cerebral ischemia in rats. Acta Pharmacol Sin 31, 889–899 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1038/aps.2010.66
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/aps.2010.66
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