Berberine was neuroprotective against an in vitro model of brain ischemia: Survival and apoptosis pathways involved

Abstract

Berberine is an alkaloid derived from herb the Berberis sp. and has long-term use in Oriental medicine. Studies along the years have demonstrated its beneficial effect in various neurodegenerative and neuropsychiatric disorders. The subject of this study was to evaluate whether berberine protects against delayed neuronal cell death in organotypic hippocampal culture (OHC) exposed to oxygen and glucose deprivation (OGD) and the cell signaling mechanism related to its effect. Hippocampal slices were obtained from 6 to 8-days-old male Wistar rat and cultured for 14 days. Following, the cultures were exposed for 1h to OGD and then treated with Berberine (10 and 20μM). After 24h recovery, propidium iodide (PI) uptake was analyzed and a decrease was observed in PI uptake on OGD Ber-treated culture, which means a decrease in cellular death. Western blot analysis showed that proteins Akt, GSK3β, ERK and JNK appear to play a role in berberine-mediated neuroprotection. Furthermore, capase-3 activity of OGD Ber-treated culture was diminished by control level in a fluorimetry assay. These findings suggest that berberine-mediated neuroprotection after ischemia involves Akt/GSK3β/ERK 1/2 survival/apoptotic signaling pathway as well as JNK and caspase-3 activity inhibition.

Berberine prevents nitric oxide-induced rat chondrocyte apoptosis and cartilage degeneration in a rat osteoarthritis model via AMPK and p38 MAPK signaling

“…BBR is an isoquinoline alkaloid, the anti-apoptotic property of which has been applied extensively to a variety of diseases [25,32,33]. Attenuating the process of apoptosis [8,34].…”

rAAV8-733-Mediated Gene Transfer of CHIP/Stub-1 Prevents Hippocampal Neuronal Death in Experimental Brain Ischemia

“…36 After 13 days of culture, hippocampal slices previously infected with rAAV (day in vitro 0) and non-infected controls were rinsed three times with glucose-free medium (1.26 mM CaCl2, 5.36 mM KCl, 136.9 mM NaCl, 0.34 mM H2PO4, 0.49 mM MgCl2, 0.44 mM MgSO4, 25 mM HEPES, and 4 mM NaHCO3 [pH 7.3]) and left in 1 mL of this medium for 30 min. The medium was then replaced by fresh medium previously bubbled with nitrogen for 30 min.…”

Berberine attenuates ischemia–reperfusion injury through inhibiting HMGB1 release and NF-κB nuclear translocation

“…Berberine, an alkaloid isolated from Chinese herb Coptis chinensis (Huang lian), has been used extensively in China as an antidiabetic, antihyperlipidemic, antidepressant, anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, and anticancer agent [15]. Accumulating evidence demonstrates that berberine possesses potent neuroprotective effects against many neurological disorders, such as anxiety, brain stroke, and Alzheimer's disease [16,17]. Based on the involvement of inflammatory stress in the pathogenesis of ischemic brain injury and the proposed activity of berberine as an anti-inflammatory agent, berberine may be used as a new choice for cerebral ischemia pretreatment.…”