Ginkgo bilobaextract (EGb 761) prevents the ischemic brain injury-induced decrease in parvalbumin expression

Abstract

Ginkgo biloba extract (EGb 761) exerts a neuroprotective effect against ischemic brain injury through an anti-apoptotic mechanism. Parvalbumin is a calcium buffering protein that plays an important role in modulating intracellular calcium concentration and regulating apoptotic cell death. The aim of this study was to investigate whether EGb 761 affects parvalbumin expression in cerebral ischemic injury. Adult male Sprague-Dawley rats were treated with vehicle or EGb 761 (100 mg/kg) prior to middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) and cerebral cortex tissues were collected 24 h after MCAO. A proteomic approach revealed a reduction in parvalbumin expression in the vehicle-treated animals, whereas EGb 761 pretreatment attenuates the ischemic injury-induced decrease in parvalbumin expression. RT-PCR and Western blot analyses clearly confirmed the fact that EGb 761 prevents the injury-induced decrease in parvalbumin. Moreover, the results of immunohistochemical staining showed that the number of parvalbumin-positive cells was lower in vehicle-treated animals than in sham-operated animals, and EGb 761 averted this decrease. Thus, these results suggest that the maintenance of parvalbumin expression is associated with the neuroprotective function of EGb 761 against neuronal damage induced by ischemia.

Ginkgo biloba Extract Prevents Female Mice from Ischemic Brain Damage and the Mechanism Is Independent of the HO1/Wnt Pathway

“…EGb 761 is an effective antioxidant that has been shown to provide protection against cardiovascular and neurological disorders [31, 32]. Many groups, including ours, have previously shown that EGb 761 attenuates brain damage in male rodents after permanent, transient and global models of ischemia [15, 16, 33]. The neuroprotective properties of EGb 761 are mainly attributed to HO1 induction, and we have shown the synergistic effect of EGb 761 in attenuating brain damage by upregulating the HO1/Wnt pathway and inducing neurogenesis in male mice [15, 16].…”

Advances in the Studies of Ginkgo Biloba Leaves Extract on Aging-Related Diseases

“…As a huge influx of calcium into the cell activates downstream pathways of ischemia-reperfusion injury, Koh et al [ 72 ] found that EGb 761 could prevent the decrease in the level of hippocalcin, a sensor of neuronal intracellular calcium concentration, to confer neuroprotection. Parvalbumin, another calcium buffering protein, was reported to decrease after ischemia, but EGb 761 was found to reverse this effect [ 73 ].…”

Tanakan as a multimodal cytoprotective factor in general medicine

“…У крыс, получавших EGb761, отмечалось менее зна-чительное снижение экспрессии парвальбумина. Это ис-следование позволило обнаружить еще один механизм нейропротективного и антиапоптотического действия EGb761 -поддержание нормальной экспрессии парваль-бумина в ишемизированном мозге [27].…”