Microarray analysis of gene expression on herbal glycoside recipes improving deficient ability of spatial learning memory in ischemic mice

Dioscin-Mediated Autophagy Alleviates MPP+-Induced Neuronal Degeneration: An In Vitro Parkinson's Disease Model

Autophagy is a cellular homeostatic process by which cells degrade and recycle their malfunctioned contents, and impairment in this process could lead to Parkinson’s disease (PD) pathogenesis. Dioscin, a steroidal saponin, has induced autophagy in several cell lines and animal models. The role of dioscin-mediated autophagy in PD remains to be investigated. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the hypothesis that dioscin-regulated autophagy and autophagy-related (ATG) proteins could protect neuronal cells in PD via reducing apoptosis and enhancing neurogenesis. In this study, the 1-methyl-4-phenylpyridinium ion (MPP⁺) was used to induce neurotoxicity and impair autophagic flux in a human neuroblastoma cell line (SH-SY5Y). The result showed that dioscin pre-treatment counters MPP⁺-mediated autophagic flux impairment and alleviates MPP⁺-induced apoptosis by downregulating activated caspase-3 and BCL2 associated X, apoptosis regulator (Bax) expression while increasing B-cell lymphoma 2 (Bcl-2) expression. In addition, dioscin pre-treatment was found to increase neurotrophic factors and tyrosine hydroxylase expression, suggesting that dioscin could ameliorate MPP⁺-induced degeneration in dopaminergic neurons and benefit the PD model. To conclude, we showed dioscin’s neuroprotective activity in neuronal SH-SY5Y cells might be partly related to its autophagy induction and suppression of the mitochondrial apoptosis pathway.

Therapeutic Potential of Diosgenin and Its Major Derivatives against Neurological Diseases: Recent Advances

Diosgenin (DG), a well-known steroidal sapogenin, is present abundantly in medicinal herbs such as Dioscorea rhizome, Dioscorea villosa, Trigonella foenum-graecum, Smilax China, and Rhizoma polgonati. DG is utilized as a major starting material for the production of steroidal drugs in the pharmaceutical industry. Due to its wide range of pharmacological activities and medicinal properties, it has been used in the treatment of cancers, hyperlipidemia, inflammation, and infections. Numerous studies have reported that DG is useful in the prevention and treatment of neurological diseases. Its therapeutic mechanisms are based on the mediation of different signaling pathways, and targeting these pathways might lead to the development of effective therapeutic agents for neurological diseases. The present review mainly summarizes recent progress using DG and its derivatives as therapeutic agents for multiple neurological disorders along with their various mechanisms in the central nervous system. In particular, those related to therapeutic efficacy for Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, brain injury, neuroinflammation, and ischemia are discussed. This review article also critically evaluates existing limitations associated with the solubility and bioavailability of DG and discusses imperatives for translational clinical research. It briefly recapitulates recent advances in structural modification and novel formulations to increase the therapeutic efficacy and brain levels of DG. In the present review, databases of PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus were used for studies of DG and its derivatives in the treatment of central nervous system diseases published in English until December 10, 2019. Three independent researchers examined articles for eligibility. A total of 150 articles were screened from the above scientific literature databases. Finally, a total of 46 articles were extracted and included in this review. Keywords related to glioma, ischemia, memory, aging, cognitive impairment, Alzheimer, Parkinson, and neurodegenerative disorders were searched in the databases based on DG and its derivatives.

Recent Advances in the Pharmacological Activities of Dioscin

Dioscin is a typical saponin with multiple pharmacological activities. The past few years have seen an emerging interest in and growing research on this pleiotropic saponin. Here, we review the emerging pharmacological activities reported recently, with foci on its antitumor, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, antioxidative, and tissue-protective properties. The potential use of dioscin in therapies of diverse clinical disorders is also discussed.

Microarray analysis of genes from animals treated with a traditional formulation ChandraprabhaVati reveals its therapeutic targets

Background

Traditional medicinal preparations have not received global acceptance, and their therapeutic benefits remain disputed due to lack of scientific evidence on their mechanism of action. Microarray analysis has emerged as a powerful technique that can aid in understanding the complex signaling networks activated by these formulations and thereby assess their beneficial as well as adverse effects.

Aim

The present work aims to investigate the differential influence of ChandraprabhaVati, Ayurvedic formulation used in the treatment of diabetes, anemia, urinary, respiratory, skin and liver disorders.

Materials and methods

The RNA from the liver of rats treated with different doses of ChandraprabhaVati for 28 days was isolated and studied for the genome-wide changes in the expression.

Results

The results revealed several molecular targets that could contribute to the therapeutic effects of ChandraprabhaVati. Several genes have been differentially expressed, among those miRNAs miR-434, miR877, and miRlet7e contribute to the anti-diabetic, anti-fibrotic and anti-inflammatory of CPV. The rejuvenative activity of CPV may be due to the MeOX1 and Upf3b genes. Up-regulation of Hbaa2 gene facilitates the anti-anemic effect. Interestingly gender-specific differential expressions of genes were also observed. Rab3d were found to be altered in female when compared to male animals.

Conclusion

Thus the microarray data for the CPV treated animals has revealed molecular targets that may be responsible for the various known therapeutic effects and also identified new beneficial effects of CPV.

Pure mechanistic analysis of additive neuroprotective effects between baicalin and jasminoidin in ischemic stroke mice

Both baicalin (BA) and jasminoidin (JA) are active ingredients in Chinese herb medicine Scutellaria baicalensis and Fructus gardeniae, respectively. They have been shown to exert additive neuroprotective action in ischemic stroke models. In this study we used transcriptome analysis to explore the pure therapeutic mechanisms of BA, JA and their combination (BJ) contributing to phenotype variation and reversal of pathological processes. Mice with middle cerebral artery obstruction were treated with BA, JA, their combination (BJ), or concha margaritifera (CM). Cerebral infarct volume was examined to determine the effect of these compounds on phenotype. Using the hippocampus microarray and ingenuity pathway analysis (IPA) software, we exacted the differentially expressed genes, networks, pathways, and functions in positive-phenotype groups (BA, JA and BJ) by comparing with the negative-phenotype group (CM). In the BA, JA, and BJ groups, a total of 7, 4, and 11 specific target molecules, 1, 1, and 4 networks, 51, 59, and 18 canonical pathways and 70, 53, and 64 biological functions, respectively, were identified. Pure therapeutic mechanisms of BA and JA were mainly overlapped in specific target molecules, functions and pathways, which were related to the nervous system, inflammation and immune response. The specific mechanisms of BA and JA were associated with apoptosis and cancer-related signaling and endocrine and hormone regulation, respectively. In the BJ group, novel target profiles distinct from mono-therapies were revealed, including 11 specific target molecules, 10 functions, and 10 pathways, the majority of which were related to a virus-mediated immune response. The pure additive effects between BA and JA were based on enhanced action in virus-mediated immune response. This pure mechanistic analysis may provide a clearer outline of the target profiles of multi-target compounds and combination therapies.

New expression of 5-HT1A receptor in astrocytes in the gerbil hippocampal CA1 region following transient global cerebral ischemia

5-Hydroxytryptamine (5-HT, serotonin) plays protective or detrimental roles in the development of ischemic damage. In the present study, we investigated the time-course changes in 5-HT1A receptor protein expression in the gerbil hippocampal CA1 region after transient global cerebral ischemia. 5-HT1A receptor immunoreactivity in the stratum pyramidale (SP) of the CA1 region was decreased from 6 h and hardly observed 1 and 2 days after ischemic insult. Five and 10 days after ischemia/reperfusion, 5-HT1A receptor immunoreactivity was increased and detected in astrocyte of the ischemic CA1 region. Furthermore, the pattern of changes in 5-HT1A receptor protein levels in the CA1 region after ischemia-reperfusion was similar to that observed in the immunohistochemical data. These results indicate that 5-HT1A receptor protein expressions may be related with the ischemia-induced neuronal death and the function of astrocytes in the ischemic hippocampal CA1 region.

Synergistic mechanism of gene expression and pathways between jasminoidin and ursodeoxycholic acid in treating focal cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury

AIM

Jasminoidin and ursodeoxycholic acid are 2 bioactive compounds extracted from Chinese medicine that have been proven to exert a synergistic effect as a combined administration for the treatment of stroke. The aim of this study was to reveal the pharmacogenomic mechanism of this synergistic effect of jasminoidin and ursodeoxycholic acid.

METHODS

One hundred and fifteen mice with brain damage, induced by focal cerebral ischemia/reperfusion, were divided into 5 groups: jasminoidin-treated, ursodeoxycholic acid-treated, combination-treated, vehicle group, and sham-operated group. Comparative analysis of stroke-related gene expression profiles and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathways among the 3 treatment groups were performed to reveal the mechanism of this synergistic effect.

RESULTS

This study demonstrated that (1) treatment with jasminoidin alone caused similar changes in the pattern of gene expression as those treated with the combination; (2) jasminoidin treatment and the combination treatment had more overlapping changes in gene expression and activated pathways than the ursodeoxycholic acid treatment; (3) Hspa1a and Ppm1e were only up-regulated in the combination-treated group; (4) the nonoverlapping genes Fgf12, Rarα, Map3k4, paxillin (PXN) in the combination-treated group were markedly expressed, and P53 pathway was obviously activated in the combination-treated group.

CONCLUSION

These findings may suggest that jasminoidin is the major component of the combination, and the combination plays an important role of the synergistic effect in up-regulating expression of gene Hspa1a, genes Fgf12, Rarα, Map3k4 and down-regulating gene PXN, as well as activating P53 pathway.

Increased cerebral protein ISGylation after focal ischemia is neuroprotective

Addition of a small peptide called ISG15 is known as ISGylation, which is an ubiquitin (ub)-like posttranslational modification. We currently show that focal ischemia induced by transient middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) in adult mice significantly induces cortical protein ISGylation between 6 and 24 hours reperfusion. With two-dimensional western blotting, 45 proteins were observed to be significantly increased in ISGylation (by 1.8- to 9.7-fold) after focal ischemia compared with sham control. Immunochemistry showed that ISGylated proteins are localized in neurons within the ipsilateral striatum and in astroglia within the peri-infarct cortex of ischemic mice. When subjected to transient MCAO, ISG15(-/-) mice showed increased mortality, exacerbated infarction, and worsened neurologic recovery than did wild-type controls. In addition, mice lacking UBE1L (ub-activating enzyme E1-like protein, the first enzyme of the ISGylation cycle) also showed bigger infarcts when subjected to transient MCAO. Regional cerebral blood flow or other physiologic parameters were not significantly different in both knockouts compared with wild-type controls. These studies indicate that increased protein ISGylation might be an endogenous neuroprotective adaptation to minimize poststroke brain damage.

Effects of S/B remedy containing Scutellaria baicalensis and Bupleurum scorzonerifolfium on hepatic interleukin-6 related signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 activation in mice through cell-cell interaction

Signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) plays an important role in regulating interleukin 6 (IL-6) related growth control of the liver. Our previous study demonstrated that a mixture containing Scutellaria baicalensis and Bupleurum scorzonerifolfium (S/B remedy) modulated the growth of hepatocytes during liver regeneration after 2/3 partial hepatectomy. The aim of this study was to investigate whether S/B remedy induced mouse hepatic STAT3 activation directly in hepatocytes or indirectly via non-parenchymal cell-hepatocyte interaction. Direct S/B remedy effects were studied using primarily isolated hepatocytes; while C57BL/6J mice were used to study indirect effects of S/B remedy using gadolinium chloride to deplete Kupffer cells' function. The results showed that S/B remedy and its active constituents did not directly activate growth-related signaling in primarily isolated hepatocytes. However, S/B remedy induced STAT3 and subsequently suppressor of cytokine signaling (SOCS3) activation in mouse liver and increased serum IL-6 level in a dose-dependent manner, which could be partially blocked by pretreatment with gadolinium chloride. Oligonucloetide microarray analysis from S/B remedy-treated peripheral blood leukocytes demonstrated an up-regulation of IL-6 gene expression. We conclude that S/B remedy did not directly induce STAT3 activation in vitro, but induced hepatic IL-6 related STAT3 activation through non-parenchymal cell-hepatocyte interaction in vivo. The results provide important information on the molecular mechanisms of S/B remedy for treatment of human liver diseases.

The flavonoid baicalein promotes NMDA receptor-dependent long-term potentiation and enhances memory

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

There is growing interest in the physiological functions of flavonoids, especially in their effects on cognitive function and on neurodegenerative diseases. The aim of the current investigation was to evaluate the role of the flavonoid baicalein in long-term potentiation (LTP) in the hippocampal CA1 region and cognitive behavioural performance.

EXPERIMENTAL APPROACH

Effects of baicalein on LTP in rat hippocampal slices were investigated by electrophysiological methods. Phosphorylation of Akt (at Ser(473)), the extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK1/2) and the transcription factor cAMP response element-binding protein (CREB) (at Ser(133)) were analysed by Western blot. Fear conditioning was used to determine whether baicalein could improve learning and memory in rats.

KEY RESULTS

Baicalein enhanced the N-methyl-d-aspartate glutamate receptor-dependent LTP in a bell-shaped concentration-dependent manner. Addition of the lipoxygenase metabolites 12(S)-HETE and 12(S)-HPETE did not reverse these effects of baicalein. Baicalein treatment enhanced phosphorylation of Akt during induction of LTP with the same bell-shaped dose-response curve. LTP potentiation induced by baicalein was blocked by inhibitors of phosphoinositide 3-kinase. CREB phosphorylation was also increased in the CA1 region of baicalein-treated slices. Baicalein-treated rats performed significantly better than controls in a hippocampus-dependent contextual fear conditioning task. Furthermore, baicalein treatment selectively increased the phosphorylation of Akt and CREB in the CA1 region of hippocampus, but not in the prefrontal cortex, after fear conditioning training.

CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS

Our results demonstrate that the flavonoid baicalein can facilitate memory, and therefore it might be useful in the treatment of patients with memory disorders.

Natural compounds from traditional medicinal herbs in the treatment of cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury

More and more attention in the field of drug discovery has been focused on the neuroprotection of natural compounds from traditional medicinal herbs. Cerebral ischemia is a complex pathological process involving a series of mechanisms, and a framework for the development of neuroprotectants from traditional herb medicine is a promising treatment for cerebral ischemia. Natural compounds with the effects of anti-oxidation, anti-inflammation, calcium antagonization, anti-apoptosis, and neurofunctional regulation exhibit preventive or therapeutic effects on experimental ischemic brain injury. According to the pharmacological mechanisms underlying neuroprotection, we evaluated natural products from traditional medicinal herbs that exhibit protective effects on ischemic brain injury and characterized the promising targets.

Transient focal ischemia induces extensive temporal changes in rat cerebral microRNAome

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are approximately 22 nucleotides long, noncoding RNAs that control cellular function by either degrading mRNAs or arresting their translation. To understand their functional significance in ischemic pathophysiology, we profiled miRNAs in adult rat brain as a function of reperfusion time after transient middle cerebral artery occlusion. Of the 238 miRNAs evaluated, 8 showed increased and 12 showed decreased expression at least at 4 out of 5 reperfusion time points studied between 3 h and 3 days compared with sham. Of those, 17 showed >5 fold change. Bioinformatics analysis indicated a correlation between miRNAs altered to several mRNAs known to mediate inflammation, transcription, neuroprotection, receptors function, and ionic homeostasis. Antagomir-mediated prevention of mir-145 expression led to an increased protein expression of its downstream target superoxide dismutase-2 in the postischemic brain. In silico analysis showed sequence complementarity of eight miRNAs induced after focal ischemia to 877 promoters indicating the possibility of noncoding RNA-induced activation of gene expression. The mRNA expression of the RNases Drosha and Dicer, cofactor Pasha, and the pre-miRNA transporter exportin-5, which modulate miRNA biogenesis, were not altered after transient middle cerebral artery occlusion. Thus, the present studies indicate a critical role of miRNAs in controlling mRNA transcription and translation in the postischemic brain.

Botanical drugs: challenges and opportunities: contribution to Linnaeus Memorial Symposium 2007

Plants have been a source of therapeutic agents for more than 5000 years. Approximately 25% of the modern medications are developed from plants. Botanical drugs, simply defined as clinically validated pharmaceuticals of plant origin, typically contain a multi-component composition derived from herbal practices. An obvious advantage of botanical drugs is their history of use and hence, that the therapeutic window has already been understood through experience. Following vigorous scientific validation and appropriate regulatory procedures, some of the ancient remedies may prove to be useful in mitigating certain ailments (e.g., Alzheimer's disease, schizophrenia, metabolic syndrome, etc.) where contemporary therapies often lack desired effectiveness. Such a complementary approach has received tremendous attention among medical professionals, governmental agencies and the general public across the world. A few recently approved botanical prescriptions in the USA and Europe, albeit for topical application, have opened a window of opportunity in terms of regulatory passages in the West. One of the major challenges we face is the standardization of biological materials from natural sources. New technologies to modernize traditional herbs into mainstream pharmaceutical products are being evaluated with the ultimate goal of maximizing the opportunities and overcoming the challenges.

Large scale analysis of genes contributing to the herbal preparation dependent hippocampal plasticity in postischemic rehabilitation

Herbal preparations can affect the expression of many genes involved in the ischemic process. These genes have been providing insights into the molecular basis of brain plasticity in stroke rehabilitation. However, the extent of plasticity has not been investigated using a chemogenomic approach. A herbal preparation (270 mg/kg) used to treat ischemic mice for 45 days after global ischemia resulted in a significant decrease in infarct volume and neurological score compared with that of vehicle. This effect was characterized by investigating chemical genomic profiles of the mouse hippocampus with a cDNA microarray containing 1176 known genes. Treatment with the herbal preparation reversed the expression of 46 genes out of 100 genes altered in untreated ischemic mouse hippocampus. These data indicated that more genes were upregulated (60.78%) than downregulated (30.61%), and only 46 genes (46%) appear to be prime targets for therapeutic intervention in ischemia. The altered genes can be classified into seven groups, including signal transduction (12 genes, 27%), oncogene (8 genes, 17%), and transcriptional regulation (7 genes, 15%). Such multiple plasticity of expression could be considered as the beneficial role of this herbal preparation in stroke rehabilitation. Changes in gene expression of nuclear factor of activated T cells, 14-3-3 eta, and beta-arrestin suggest a potential role for the immune system in this plasticity. Brain plasticity originates from a balance of up and downregulated genes (Yin and Yang), and reversal of gene expression in multiple pathways indicates that a complex signaling network may be constructed and investigated further.

Application of the "-Omic-" technologies in phytomedicine

The proof of efficacy of phytopreparations and the determination of their mode of action are permanent challenges for an evidence-based phytotherapy. The technology platform of genomics, proteomics and metabolomics ("-omic-" technologies) are high-throughput technologies. They increase substantially the number of proteins/genes that can be detected simultaneously and have the potential to relate complex mixtures to complex effects in the form of gene/protein expression profiles. Provided that phytopreparation-specific signatures in the form of gene/protein expression profiles can be developed, these technologies will be useful for the chemical and pharmacological standardization and the proof of the toxicological potential of a plant extract. Over a long-term perspective they may economize the proof of efficacy, the determination of the mode of action of phytomedicines and allow to investigate herbal extracts without prominent active principle(s). The application of this genomics revealed already that gene expression profiles induced by single drugs and the ones induced by the combination of the same drugs can be entirely different. These results make the information of the mode of action of isolated "active principles/lead substances" of phytopreparations questionable. The application of the "-omic-" technologies may lead to a change of paradigms towards the application of complex mixtures in medicine and open the new field of phytogenomics, -proteomics and -metabolomics.

The application of DNA micro-arrays (gene arrays) to the study of herbal medicines

DNA micro-arrays (gene arrays) have become a popular and useful tool with which to study the effects of various agents and treatments on gene expression in cells and tissues. In theory one can simultaneously evaluate, in a single experiment, changes in gene expression (at the level of transcription) of the entire genome of the organism under study. Consequently these techniques have been used by many investigators interested in cancer research, differentiation and development, toxicology, and the effects of pharmaceuticals on cells and animals. In addition, recent studies have shown the capacity of the technique for revealing the importance of genes not previously implicated in a given response. However, relatively few attempts have been made so far to evaluate herbal medicines, although the potential to answer a number of relevant questions is there. In this review we first discuss the fundamental principles of the gene array technology, focusing on the individual steps in the process and their problems and pitfalls, and we discuss the analysis and interpretation of the data, the discipline of bio-informatics, without which meaningful evaluation of gene expression changes would be impossible. We next analyze specific studies, which utilized gene array technology, aimed at evaluating the effects of certain herbal medicine formulas and bioactive ingredients in animal tissues and in cell cultures. We also include a brief description of our own evaluation of Echinacea, which we have been studying for several years, to indicate possible mechanisms of action of this herbal, and also to illustrate how the techniques, especially the bio-informatics, continue to evolve. We believe, on the basis of experience acquired by us and other investigators to date, that the technology of gene array analysis can make significant contributions to understanding how herbal medicines work, and therefore can validate their applications in medicine.

DNA microarrays in herbal drug research

Natural products are gaining increased applications in drug discovery and development. Being chemically diverse they are able to modulate several targets simultaneously in a complex system. Analysis of gene expression becomes necessary for better understanding of molecular mechanisms. Conventional strategies for expression profiling are optimized for single gene analysis. DNA microarrays serve as suitable high throughput tool for simultaneous analysis of multiple genes. Major practical applicability of DNA microarrays remains in DNA mutation and polymorphism analysis. This review highlights applications of DNA microarrays in pharmacodynamics, pharmacogenomics, toxicogenomics and quality control of herbal drugs and extracts.

Role for calcium signaling and arachidonic acid metabolites in the activity-dependent increase of AHP amplitude in leech T sensory neurons

Previous studies have revealed a new form of activity-dependent modulation of the afterhyperpolarization (AHP) in tactile (T) neurons of the leech Hirudo medicinalis. The firing of T cells is characterized by an AHP, which is mainly due to the activity of the Na+/K+ ATPase. Low-frequency repetitive stimulation of T neurons leads to a robust increment of the AHP amplitude, which is correlated with a synaptic depression between T neuron and follower cells. In the present study, we explored the molecular cascades underlying the AHP increase. We tested the hypothesis that this activity-dependent phenomenon was triggered by calcium influx during neural activity by applying blockers of voltage-dependent Ca2+ channels. We report that AHP increase requires calcium influx that, in turn, induces release of calcium from intracellular stores so sustaining the enhancement of AHP. An elevation of the intracellular calcium can activate the cytosolic isoforms of the phosholipase A2 (PLA2). Therefore we analyzed the role of PLA2 in the increase of the AHP, and we provide evidence that not only PLA2 but also the recruitment of arachidonic acid metabolites generated by the 5-lipoxygenase pathway are necessary for the induction of AHP increase. These data indicate that a sophisticated cascade of intracellular signals links the repetitive discharge of T neurons to the activation of molecular pathways, which finally may alter the activity of critical enzymes such as the Na+/K+ ATPase, that sustains the generation of the AHP and its increase during repetitive stimulation. These results also suggest the potential importance of the poorly studied 5-lipoxygenase pathway in forms of neuronal plasticity.

Transcriptional mechanisms of hippocampal aging

Aging related cognitive decline is an increasing health problem but affects only a subset of elderly humans. This research uses outbred young (Y) and aged rats. Behavioral characterization distinguishes aged rats with impaired spatial learning (AI) and aged rats with unimpaired learning ability (AU), mimicking the varied susceptibility of the human population to age-associated learning impairment. Studies are testing a hypothesis that hippocampal transcriptional mechanisms and gene expression profiles linked to activator protein-1 (AP-1) and glucocorticoid receptor (GR), mineralocorticoid receptor (MR) or cyclic AMP response element binding protein (CREB) families of transcription factors distinguish successful or unsuccessful aging and cognition. Results from mRNA assays, in situ hybridization, electromobility shift assays and western immunoblot indicate changes in GR and CREB in AI rats. State of the art future approaches to define downstream transcription targets are described.

Expression profiling of the estrogen responsive genes in response to phytoestrogens using a customized DNA microarray

Here, we examined phytoestrogens, isoflavones (genistein, daidzein, glycitein, biochanin A and ipriflavone), flavones (chrysin, luteolin and apigenin), flavonols (kaempferol and quercetin), and a coumestan, a flavanone and a chalcone (coumestrol, naringenin and phloretin, respectively) by means of a DNA microarray assay. A total of 172 estrogen responsive genes were monitored with a customized DNA microarray and their expression profiles for the above phytoestrogens were compared with that for 17beta-estradiol (E2) using correlation coefficients, or R values, after a correlation analysis by linear regression. While R values indicate the similarity of the response by the genes, we also examined the genes by cluster analysis and by their specificity to phytoestrogens (specific to genistein, daidzein or glycitein) or gene functions. Several genes were selected from p53-related genes (CDKN1A, TP53I11 and CDC14), Akt2-related genes (PRKCD, BRCA1, TRIB3 and APPL), mitogen-activated protein kinase-related genes (RSK and SH3BP5), Ras superfamily genes (RAP1GA1, RHOC and ARHGDIA) and AP-1 family and related genes (RIP140, FOS, ATF3, JUN and FRA2). We further examined the extracts from two local crops of soy beans (Kuro-daizu or Mochi-daizu) by comparing the gene expression profiles with those of E2 or phytoestrogens as a first step in utilizing the expression profiles for various applications.

Effects of Yukmijihwang-tang Derivatives (YMJd), a Memory Enhancing Herbal Extract, on the Gene-Expression Profile in the Rat Hippocampus

The herbal extract Yukmijihwang-tang (YMJ) has been widely used for centuries as an anti-aging herbal medicine in Asian countries. Among the various modified prescriptions of YMJ, YMJ derivatives (YMJd) were formulated to enhance memory retention. This study has three goals: 1) to quantitatively evaluate the memory-enhancing effect of YMJd using behavior tasks; 2) to use cDNA micro-array tools to identify candidate genes responsible for enhancing memory; and 3) to statistically evaluate the specific gene expression patterns using Real-time PCR. Memory retention abilities are addressed by the passive avoidance task with SD male rat. The retention time of the YMJd group was significantly delayed (ca. 100%), whereas with Ginkgo biloba and Soya lecithin treatment, this was only delayed 20% and 10%, respectively. The cDNA from the hippocampi of YMJd and rat control groups were applied to an Incyte rat GEM2 cDNA microarray. The microarray results showed that transthyretin and PEP-19 were abundantly expressed in the YMJd treated group. Importantly, PEP-19 is a neuron-specific protein that inhibits apoptotic processes. On the other hand, neuronal genes involved in neuronal death or neurodegeneration, such as pentraxin and spectrin, were abundantly expressed in the control group. The list of differentially expressed genes may provide further insight into the action and mechanism behind the memory-enhancing effect of herbal extracts of YMJd.