Ethnopharmacological relevance Citri Reticulata Pericarpium Viride (also known Qing-Pi or QP) is a plant in the Rutaceae family, QP is a traditional Qi-regulating medicine in Chinese medicine that is compatible with other Chinese medicine components and has extensive clinical practice in treating anxiety and depression. Reports on the pharmacological effects of QP have demonstrated its neuroprotective effects and antioxidant capacities. Numerous pharmacological benefits of QP are attributed to its antioxidant abilities. Anxiety disorders are a broadly defined category of mental illnesses. Oxidative stress and an imbalance in the antioxidant defense system are typical pathological features of these disorders. Aim of the study The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of QP essential oil on anxiety using animal models and investigate the underlying neurobiological mechanisms. Materials and methods This study aimed to develop an animal model of anxiety using chronic restraint stress and investigate the effects of inhalation of Citri Reticulata Pericarpium Viride essential oil on anxiety-like behavior, olfactory function, and olfactory bulb neurogenesis in mice with anxiety. Results The results showed that long-term chronic restraint stimulation caused a decrease in olfactory function, significant anxiety-like behavior, and a notable reduction in the number of neurons in the olfactory bulb. However, inhalation of Citri Reticulata Pericarpium Viride essential oil reversed these effects, improving the olfactory function, neuro-stimulating effect, alleviating anxiety-like behavior, and regulating theta (4-12Hz) oscillation in the hippocampus DG area. These effects were associated with changes in the expression levels of glutamate receptor NMDAR and NeuN in olfactory bulb. Conclusions The study revealed that mice with anxiety induced by chronic restraint stress exhibited significant olfactory dysfunction, providing strong evidence for the causal relationship between anxiety disorders and olfactory dysfunction. Moreover, QP essential oil has the potential to be developed as a therapeutic drug for anxiety disorders, in addition to its role as a complementary anxiolytic.
Graphene and its derivatives, along with adipose-derived stem cells (ADSCs), have demonstrated great potential to be used in neuron tissue engineering. ADSCs from rats (rADSCs) were first isolated and the surface markers were evaluated using flow cytometry. The rADSCs were fibroblast-like, positively expressed CD90 and CD105, lacked surface markers CD31, CD34 and CD45, and also showed adipogenic and osteogenic differentiation potentials. Graphene oxide (GO) and reduced graphene oxide (rGO) substrates were successfully fabricated. Based on X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy spectra, it was found that GO had more oxygen containing groups than rGO. On these substrates, rADSCs were spread; they proliferated very well and no cytotoxicity was observed. For GO, better organized actin in rADSCs was observed than that on rGO, which was probably due to the higher amount of oxygen in GO. After neurogenic induction, it was found that rADSCs transformed from a fibroblast-like to a spindle-like morphology when observed under a light microscope and scanning electron microscopy, and still no cytotoxic effect was found. Furthermore, immunofluorescence staining showed that neural-specific markers MAP2 and NeuN were detected in cells on these substrates. Both GO and rGO substrates were cytocompatible for rADSCs and rGO was probably more prominent in enhancing neurogenic differentiation.
Intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) is reported as a common and often fatal type of stroke accompanied with high morbidity and mortality, and it frequently results in long-lasting neurological dysfunctions. However, the pathogenesis that contributes to ICH has not been fully understood. Rnf112, also known as Znf179, is a member of the RING finger protein family. The expression of Rnf112 is abundant in the brain and is modulated during brain progression and development. The study aimed to explore the role of Rnf112 in brain injury after ICH, as well as the underlying molecular mechanisms. The results indicated that ICH led to a significant decrease in Rnf112, which was confirmed in oxyhemoglobin (oxyHb)-incubated astrocytes and microglial cells. Moreover, the Rnf112 knockout (Rnf112 −/− ) mice and wild type (WT) mice induced by ICH were further employed. Compared to the WT/ICH group, Rnf112 −/− mice exhibited accelerated brain injury, as evidenced by the increased brain water contents and neurological deficit scores (NDS). In comparison to WT/ICH group, a remarkable up-regulation in the release of pro-inflammatory cytokines, including tumor necrotic factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin-6 (IL-6), and IL-1β, was observed in perihematoma tissues of Rnf112 −/− mice on day 3 post-ICH. The process was along with promoted glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) and Iba1 expression and reduced NeuN levels. Furthermore, ICH-induced increases in toll-like receptor (TLR)-4 and myeloid differentiation primary response protein (MyD88) expression were exacerbated by the loss of Rnf112. The phosphorylated expression of IKKα, inhibitor of NF-κB (IκBα) and nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB) induced by ICH in perihematoma tissues of mice was markedly enhanced in Rnf112 −/− mice. Rnf112 repression-induced inflammatory response was verified in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-incubated glial cells . In contrast, over-expressing Rnf112 markedly attenuated ICH-induced brain injury by restraining inflammation via inactivating TLR-4/NF-κB pathway. In summary, our findings suggested that Rnf112 expression was highly involved in the progression of ICH, and targeting Rnf112 signaling might be a promising therapeutic strategy against ICH development.
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