Picroside ? Plays A Neuroprotective Effect By Inhibiting The Cytochrome C Signal Pathway

Objective There is an increasing incidence of cerebrovascular disease,while the pathogenesis is not very clear which make it lack of effective measures.The objective of this study is to investigate the neuroprotective effect of picroside ? on cytochrome C(Cyt C)signal pathway in brain tissue of rats following ischemia reperfusion injury.Methods According to random number table,128 healthy adult male Wistar rats were divided into control group,model group,picroside ? group,antgonist group,antgonist +picroside group,agonist group,agonist + picroside group,vehicle group.Atractyloside(Atr)and Cyclosporin A(Cs A)were adopted as tool medicine,the ischemia/reperfusion(I/R)model referring to Longa's method with medications was adopted.After 24 h of reperfusion,neurobehavioral function was studied by modified neurological severity score test,cerebral infarction volume was detected by TTC staining,morphology of brain tissue was observed by HE staining,the apoptotic cells were counted by terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase d UTP nick end labeling assay(TUNEL),the ultrastructure of mitochondria was observed by transmission electron microscopy,the contents of reactive oxygen species was measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay(ELISA),the expression of Cyt C,Caspase-9 and Caspase-3 were determined by immunohistochemical assay and Western blot.Results In the model group,the neurological behavioral malfunction was increase,the cerebral infarct volume was obvious,HE staining showed nerve cells were serious damaged,the mitochondria structure was seriously destroyed,the contents of ROS and the number of apoptotic cells were increased;immunohistochemical assay and Western blot showed that the expression of Cyt C,Caspase-9 and Caspase-3 were increased significantly more than those in sham group(P<0.05).In the picroside ? group,the neurological behavior function and the cerebral infarct volume were improved,the morphology of brain tissue was improved and the mitochondria damage was reduced,the number of apoptotic cells was decreased;immunohistochemical assay and Western blot showed that the expression of Cyt CCaspase-9 and Caspase-3 were significantly decreased than those in model group(P<0.05).Compare with Cs A and picroside ? group,the ROS contents in Cs A group was higher than that in picroside ? group(P<0.05).There was no statistical significance in the remaining groups(P>0.05).Conclusion Picroside ? could reduce ROS contents,protect mitochondria structure,down-regulate the expression of Cyt C,Caspase-9 and Caspase-3 in I/R rats.It might exerts a neuroprotective effect by inhibiting Cyt C signal pathway in rats following ischemia reperfusion injury.