Schizandra chinensis Alkaloids Inhibit Lipopolysaccharide-Induced Inflammatory Responses in BV2 Microglial Cells

• Published in: Biomolecules & therapeutics Vol. 17; no. 1; pp. 47 - 56
• Main Authors: Choi, Min-Sik, Kwon, Kyung-Ja, Jeon, Se-Jin, Go, Hyo-Sang, Kim, Ki-Chan, Ryu, Jae-Ryun, Lee, Jong-Min, Han, Seol-Heui, Cheong, Jae-Hoon, Ryu, Jong-Hoon, Bae, Ki-Hwan, Shin, Chan-Young, Ko, Kwang-Ho
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: 한국응용약물학회 31.01.2009
• Subjects: 약학
• ISSN: 1976-9148; 2005-4483
• DOI: 10.4062/biomolther.2009.17.1.47

Schizandra chinensis (S. chinensis) exhibits a harmless, ‘adaptogen-type’ effect leading to improvements in mental performance and learning efficacy in brain. Activated microglia contributes to neuronal injury by releasing neurotoxic products, which make it important to regulate microglial activation to prevent further cytological as well as functional brain damage. However, the effect of S. chinensis on microglial activation has not been examined yet. We have investigated the effects of four compounds (Gomisin A, Gomisin N, Schizandrin and Schizandrol A) from S. chinensis on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)- induced microglial activation. In this study, BV2 microglial cells were activated with LPS and the microglial activation was assessed by up-regulation of activation markers such as nitric oxide (NO), reactive oxygen species (ROS), and matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9). The results showed that all four compounds significantly reduced the intracellular level of ROS, the release of NO and MMP-9 as well as LPS-induced phosphorylation of ERK1/2. These results strongly suggested that S. chinensis may be useful to modulate inflammation-mediated brain damage by regulating microglial activation KCI Citation Count: 13