Indication of nerve growth factor binding components from herbal extracts by HerboChip: a platform for drug screening on a chip

• Published in: Chinese medicine Vol. 11; no. 1; p. 34
• Main Authors: Lee, Pinky Sum Chi, Zhang, Laura Minglu, Yan, Artemis Lu, Lam, Kelly Yin Ching, Dong, Tina Tingxia, Lin, Huangquan, Chan, Gallant Kar Lun, Tsim, Karl Wah Keung
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England BioMed Central Ltd 23.07.2016; BioMed Central
• Subjects: Health aspects; Nerve growth factor
• ISSN: 1749-8546; 1749-8546
• DOI: 10.1186/s13020-016-0107-8

HerboChip is an array of different fractions deriving from herbal extracts. This study aimed to identify effective components from Chinese medicine (CM) that interact with nerve growth factor (NGF) as a target using HerboChip. Fifty types of CM that are traditionally used as remedies for emotion imbalance were selected and extracted with 50 % ethanol. Biotinylated-NGF was hybridized with over 300 chips coated with different HPLC-separated fractions from CM extracts and straptavidin-Cy5 was used to identify the NGF-bound fractions. Over 300 chips were screened within a week, and 17 positive hits were identified. The interaction of the identified herbal extracts with NGF was confirmed in cultured PC12 cells. Co-application of NGF and herbal extract interfered with NGF-induced expression of neurofilaments, including NF68 and NF200 in cell cultures. Western blot analysis comparing the intensity of phosphorylated cAMP response element-binding protein (CREB) over total CREB showed NGF-induced CREB phosphorylation was modulated by the identified herbal extracts. Five CM herbs showed activating activities on the NGF response and nine CM herbs showed inhibiting activities. The current result supported the applicability of HerboChip for screening NGF binding components from herbal extracts.