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Gastrodin Ameliorates Depressive-Like Behaviors and Up-Regulates the Expression of BDNF in the Hippocampus and Hippocampal-Derived Astrocyte of Rats

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Abstract

Gastrodin (GAS), a main constituent of a Chinese herbal medicine Tian ma, has been shown to be effective in treating various mood disorders. The purpose of the present study was to assess the effects of GAS on alleviating depressive-like behaviors in a rat model of chronic unpredictable stress (CUS) and regulating the expression of BDNF in the hippocampus and hippocampal-derived astrocyte from Sprague–Dawley (SD) rats. Following CUS, rats were intraperitoneally administered gastrodin (50, 100, or 200 mg/kg daily) or vehicle for 2 weeks. Rats were then experienced sucrose preference test and forced swim test. The expressions of GFAP and BDNF in the hippocampus were evaluated. In addition, hippocampal astrocytes were isolated from neonatal SD rats and exposed to different concentrations of GAS (sham, 5, 10, 20, 50 and 100 μg/mL) for 48 and 72 h before the cell viability and the levels of pERK1/2 and BDNF were analyzed. Furthermore, the cell viability was also tested after exposure to serum-free condition that contain different concentrations of GAS for 48 and 72 h. GAS administration (100 and 200 mg/kg daily) reversed depressive-like behaviors in rats exposed to CUS paradigm and restored the expression of GFAP and BDNF in the hippocampus. Moreover, in vitro experiments revealed that GAS did not increase the cell viability of astrocytes but protected it from 72 h’s serum-free damage at the dosage 20 μg/mL. Increased levels of ERK1/2 phosphorylation and BDNF protein were also observed after GAS (20 μg/mL) treatment for 72 h. These results indicate that gastrodin possesses antidepressant effect. The changes of the astrocyte activation and the level of BDNF may play a critical role in the pharmacological action of GAS.

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Abbreviations

CUS:

Chronic unpredictable stress

GAS:

Gastrodin

BDNF:

Brain-derived neurotrophic factor

FST:

Forced swim test

GFAP:

Glial fibrillary acidic protein

pERK1/2:

Phosphorylation extracellular regulated protein kinases

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation (Grant no: 81201054, 81201041 and 81173285) of China and the Natural Science Foundation (Grant no: 2013JQ4014) of Shaanxi province.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychosomatic Medicine, Xijing Hospital, Fourth Military Medical University, 127 Changle Road, Xi’an, 710032, Shaanxi, China

    Ruiguo Zhang, Zhengwu Peng, Huaihai Wang, Fen Xue, Yihuan Chen, Ying Wang, Huaning Wang & Qingrong Tan

  2. Department of Toxicology, Shaanxi Key Lab of Free Radical Biology and Medicine, the Ministry of Education Key Lab of Hazard Assessment and Control in Special Operational Environment, School of Public Health, Fourth Military Medical University, 127 Changle Road, Xi’an, 710032, Shaanxi, China

    Zhengwu Peng

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  1. Ruiguo Zhang
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Correspondence to Huaning Wang or Qingrong Tan.

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Ruiguo Zhang, Zhengwu Peng and Huaihai Wang have contributed equally to this work.

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Zhang, R., Peng, Z., Wang, H. et al. Gastrodin Ameliorates Depressive-Like Behaviors and Up-Regulates the Expression of BDNF in the Hippocampus and Hippocampal-Derived Astrocyte of Rats. Neurochem Res 39, 172–179 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11064-013-1203-0

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