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Icariin Improves Cognitive Impairment after Traumatic Brain Injury by Enhancing Hippocampal Acetylation

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Abstract

Objective

To examine the effect of icariin (ICA) on the cognitive impairment induced by traumatic brain injury (TBI) in mice and the underlying mechanisms related to changes in hippocampal acetylation level.

Methods

The modifified free-fall method was used to establish the TBI mouse model. Mice with post-TBI cognitive impairment were randomly divided into 3 groups using the randomised block method (n=7): TBI (vehicle-treated), low-dose (75 mg/kg) and high-dose (150 mg/kg) of ICA groups. An additional sham-operated group (vehicle-treated) was employed. The vehicle or ICA was administrated by gavage for 28 consecutive days. The Morris water maze (MWM) test was conducted. Acetylcholine (ACh) content, mRNA and protein levels of choline acetyltransferase (ChAT), and protein levels of acetylated H3 (Ac-H3) and Ac-H4 were detected in the hippocampus.

Results

Compared with the sham-operated group, the MWM performance, hippocampal ACh content, mRNA and protein levels of ChAT, and protein levels of Ac-H3 and Ac-H4 were signifificantly decreased in the TBI group (P<0.05). High-dose of ICA signifificantly ameliorated the TBI-induced weak MWM performance, increased hippocampal ACh content, and mRNA and protein levels of ChAT, as well as Ac-H3 protein level compared with the TBI group (P<0.05).

Conclusion

ICA improved post-TBI cognitive impairment in mice by enhancing hippocampal acetylation, which improved hippocampal cholinergic function and ultimately improved cognition.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Neurology, Jiangyin Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Jiangyin, Jiangsu Province, 214400, China

    Zi-gang Zhang & Jin-hai Zai

  2. Department of Pathogeny Microbiology, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang, Jiangsu Province, 212013, China

    Zi-gang Zhang

  3. Department of Rehabilitation, Northern Jiangsu People’s Hospital, Yangzhou, Jiangsu Province, 225001, China

    Xin Wang & Cai-hua Sun

  4. Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine for Prevention and Treatment of Senile Diseases, Yangzhou, Jiangsu Province, 225001, China

    Xin Wang & Bing-chun Yan

  5. Jiangsu Co-innovation Center for Prevention and Control of Important Animal Infectious Diseases and Zoonoses, Yangzhou, Jiangsu Province, 225009, China

    Bing-chun Yan

Authors
  1. Zi-gang Zhang
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  2. Xin Wang
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  3. Jin-hai Zai
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  4. Cai-hua Sun
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  5. Bing-chun Yan
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Bing-chun Yan.

Additional information

Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 81401005), the Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province, China (No. BK20140494), and the University Natural Science Research Major Project of Jiangsu Province, China (No. 16KJA310006)

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Zhang, Zg., Wang, X., Zai, Jh. et al. Icariin Improves Cognitive Impairment after Traumatic Brain Injury by Enhancing Hippocampal Acetylation. Chin. J. Integr. Med. 24, 366–371 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11655-018-2823-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11655-018-2823-z

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