Chunxiao Wu,Jiao Wang,Chun Li,Guoping Zhou,Xiuhong Xu,Xin Zhang,Xiao Lan
Background . EA therapy is a traditional therapeutic approach for alleviation of cerebral I/R-induced brain injury. We investigated the effect of EA on MCAO rat model to examine the mechanism of apoptosis in the rat hippocampus. Methods . 200 male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into sham, I/R, EA, ERK inhibitor (PD), and ERK inhibitor+EA (PD+EA) groups. Each group was subdivided into 5 groups according to different time points. Locomotor behaviors were evaluated using neurological scales and morphological examination was performed using HE staining. Apoptosis index of neural cells in local infarcted area was measured by TUNEL and p-ERK expression was detected using immunohistochemistry technique and western blot analysis. Results . Neurological deficit scores and neural apoptosis in the EA group were lower than I/R group at the same time points, respectively. At different time points, p-ERK level was increased in the ischemic hippocampal CA1 in the EA group as compared to I/R group; the increased level was increased most at 1 day, 3 days, and 1 week ( p < 0.01). Conclusion . EA alleviates neurological deficit, reduces apoptosis index, and simultaneously upregulates the expression of p-ERK signal pathway in rats subjected to I/R injury.
Lin Fuxing,Yang Jie,Muhammad Umair,Sun Jing,Huang Zhenghua,Li Wei,Lv Fengxia,Lu Zhaoxin
Bacillomycin D can inhibit the growth of Aspergillus ochraceus in food samples. In addition, it can induce apoptosis in and inhibit the proliferation of cancer cells, although the details of this mechanism are unknown. In this study, we separated bacillomycin D-C14, D-C15, D-C16
monomers from the Bacillus subtilis strain fmbJ. The bacillomycin D monomers containing longer fatty acid chains better induced apoptosis in Bgc-823, Sgc-7901, and Hgc-27 gastric cancer cells. The Bgc-823 cell line was the most sensitive. Acridine orange-ethidium bromide staining indicated
that bacillomycin D-C16-induced Bgc-823 cell death by triggering apoptosis, characterized by membrane blebbing, cellular shrinkage, and DNA fragmentation. Flow cytometric analysis showed a bacillomycin D-C16 dose-dependent trigger of Bgc-823 apoptosis. Bacillomycin D-C16-induced the mitochondrial
pathway, as indicated by a reduced Bcl-2/Bax expression ratio, enhanced cytochrome C release, and higher levels of cleaved caspase-3. Furthermore, bacillomycin D-C16 effectively repressed phosphorylation of the serine–threonine protein kinase Akt at Ser-473 and increased the levels of
the FoxO3a protein. The combination of the PI3K/Akt-inhibitor BEZ235 with bacillomycin D-C16 enhanced the apoptosis of Bgc-823 cells. Together, these findings indicated that bacillomycin D-C16 induces apoptosis through the PI3K/Akt and FoxO3a signaling pathways.