scholarly journals Bioactivity-Guided Fractionation Identifies Amygdalin as a Potent Neurotrophic Agent from Herbal MedicineSemen PersicaeExtract

2014 ◽  
Vol 2014 ◽  
pp. 1-10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chuanbin Yang ◽  
Jia Zhao ◽  
Yuanyuan Cheng ◽  
Xuechen Li ◽  
Jianhui Rong

Herbal medicineSemen Persicaeis widely used to treat blood stasis in Chinese medicine and other oriental folk medicines. Although little is known about the effects ofSemen Persicaeand its active compounds on neuron differentiation, our pilot study showed thatSemen Persicaeextract promoted neurite outgrowth in rat dopaminergic PC12 cells. In the present study, we developed a bioactivity-guided fractionation procedure for the characterization of the neurotrophic activity ofSemen Persicaeextract. The resultant fractions were assayed for neurite outgrowth in PC12 cells based on microscopic assessment. Through liquid-liquid extraction and reverse phase HPLC separation, a botanical glycoside amygdalin was isolated as the active compound responsible for the neurotrophic activity ofSemen Persicaeextract. Moreover, we found that amygdalin rapidly induced the activation of extracellular-signal-regulated kinase 1/2 (ERK1/2). A specific ERK1/2 inhibitor PD98059 attenuated the stimulatory effect of amygdalin on neurite outgrowth. Taken together, amygdalin was identified as a potent neurotrophic agent fromSemen Persicaeextract through a bioactivity-guided fractional procedure. The neurotrophic activity of amygdalin may be mediated by the activation of ERK1/2 pathway.

2013 ◽  
Vol 2013 ◽  
pp. 1-10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Atsuyoshi Nishina ◽  
Hirokazu Kimura ◽  
Hiroyuki Tsukagoshi ◽  
Kunihisa Kozawa ◽  
Mamoru Koketsu ◽  
...  

Components fromDendranthema×grandiflorumcv. “Mottenohoka” that promote neurite outgrowth of PC12 cells were identified and the mechanism of neurite outgrowth stimulated by isolated components was studied. Components that promoted the phosphorylation of extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2 (ERK 1/2) of PC12 cells were isolated. From various structural analyses, the active components were identified as acacetin and luteolin. The effects of acacetin or luteolin on PC12 cells were evaluated by electro-blotting and immunostaining. Slight neurite outgrowth in PC12 cells was observed within 2 days of culture after stimulation by luteolin or acacetin. However, NGF-stimulation induced remarkable neurite outgrowth in comparison. Neurite outgrowth by luteolin or acacetin was significantly enhanced by pretreatment with SB203580 (a p38MAPK inhibitor). The results of this study into the phosphorylation of ERK 1/2 and p38MAPK by flavonoids suggest that the inhibition of p38MAPK phosphorylation may effectively enhance neurite outgrowth.


Biomedicines ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (5) ◽  
pp. 581
Author(s):  
Lihong Cheng ◽  
Hiroyuki Osada ◽  
Tianyan Xing ◽  
Minoru Yoshida ◽  
Lan Xiang ◽  
...  

Amarogentin (AMA) is a secoiridoid glycoside isolated from the traditional Chinese medicine, Gentiana rigescens Franch. AMA exhibits nerve growth factor (NGF)-mimicking and NGF-enhancing activities in PC12 cells and in primary cortical neuron cells. In this study, a possible mechanism was found showing the remarkable induction of phosphorylation of the insulin receptor (INSR) and protein kinase B (AKT). The potential target of AMA was predicted by using a small-interfering RNA (siRNA) and the cellular thermal shift assay (CETSA). The AMA-induced neurite outgrowth was reduced by the siRNA against the INSR and the results of the CETSA suggested that the INSR showed a significant thermal stability-shifted effect upon AMA treatment. Other neurotrophic signaling pathways in PC12 cells were investigated using specific inhibitors, Western blotting and PC12(rasN17) and PC12(mtGAP) mutants. The inhibitors of the glucocorticoid receptor (GR), phospholipase C (PLC) and protein kinase C (PKC), Ras, Raf and mitogen-activated protein kinase (MEK) significantly reduced the neurite outgrowth induced by AMA in PC12 cells. Furthermore, the phosphorylation reactions of GR, PLC, PKC and an extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) were significantly increased after inducing AMA and markedly decreased after treatment with the corresponding inhibitors. Collectively, these results suggested that AMA-induced neuritogenic activity in PC12 cells potentially depended on targeting the INSR and activating the downstream Ras/Raf/ERK and PI3K/AKT signaling pathways. In addition, the GR/PLC/PKC signaling pathway was found to be involved in the neurogenesis effect of AMA.


2000 ◽  
Vol 20 (21) ◽  
pp. 8069-8083 ◽  
Author(s):  
Randall D. York ◽  
Derek C. Molliver ◽  
Savraj S. Grewal ◽  
Paula E. Stenberg ◽  
Edwin W. McCleskey ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Neurotrophins promote multiple actions on neuronal cells including cell survival and differentiation. The best-studied neurotrophin, nerve growth factor (NGF), is a major survival factor in sympathetic and sensory neurons and promotes differentiation in a well-studied model system, PC12 cells. To mediate these actions, NGF binds to the TrkA receptor to trigger intracellular signaling cascades. Two kinases whose activities mediate these processes include the mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase (or extracellular signal-regulated kinase [ERK]) and phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3-K). To examine potential interactions between the ERK and PI3-K pathways, we studied the requirement of PI3-K for NGF activation of the ERK signaling cascade in dorsal root ganglion cells and PC12 cells. We show that PI3-K is required for TrkA internalization and participates in NGF signaling to ERKs via distinct actions on the small G proteins Ras and Rap1. In PC12 cells, NGF activates Ras and Rap1 to elicit the rapid and sustained activation of ERKs respectively. We show here that Rap1 activation requires both TrkA internalization and PI3-K, whereas Ras activation requires neither TrkA internalization nor PI3-K. Both inhibitors of PI3-K and inhibitors of endocytosis prevent GTP loading of Rap1 and block sustained ERK activation by NGF. PI3-K and endocytosis may also regulate ERK signaling at a second site downstream of Ras, since both rapid ERK activation and the Ras-dependent activation of the MAP kinase kinase kinase B-Raf are blocked by inhibition of either PI3-K or endocytosis. The results of this study suggest that PI3-K may be required for the signals initiated by TrkA internalization and demonstrate that specific endocytic events may distinguish ERK signaling via Rap1 and Ras.


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