Abstract
Rosmarinic acid (RA) is a naturally occurring polyphenolic compound. It has been reported that RA possessed antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. Our previous study showed that RA could protect MES23.5 dopaminergic cells against 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA)-induced neurotoxicity in vitro. The purpose of this study was to explore the neuroreparative (neurorescue) effect of RA on 6-OHDA-lesioned rat model of Parkinson's disease (PD) in vivo. In this study, the rats were given RA orally after intrastriatal 6-OHDA lesion. Results showed that the dopamine content in the striatum decreased and the numbers of tyrosine hydroxylase-immunoreactive neurons reduced after 6-OHDA treatment. RA treatment after 6-OHDA administration could restore these changes. Further studies demonstrated that 6-OHDA treatment increased the iron-staining positive cells, which were markedly decreased by RA treatment. Moreover, RA suppressed the increased ratio of Bax/Bcl-2 at gene level induced by 6-OHDA. This indicates that the neurorescue effects of RA against 6-ODHA-induced degeneration of the nigrostriatal dopaminergic system were achieved by decreasing nigral iron levels and regulating the ratio of Bcl-2/Bax gene expression.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 113-119 |
| Number of pages | 7 |
| Journal | Journal of Molecular Neuroscience |
| Volume | 47 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - May 2012 |
| Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- 6-Hydroxydopamine
- Iron
- Neurorescue
- Parkinson's disease
- Rosmarinic acid