Effects of α ⁃asarone on expressions of proteins in hippocampus of rats with seizures induced by kainic acid

Abstract

Objective To explore the effects of α ⁃ asarone on expressions of proteins in hippocampus of rats with seizures induced by kainic acid (KA), and find the drug action targets of α ⁃ asarone. Methods Twenty healthy male Sprague ⁃ Dawley (SD) rats were given KA by intraperitoneal injection to induce epilepsy, and were randomly divided into 2 groups: the KA group (n = 10) and α⁃asarone (24 mg/kg) group (n = 10). In α⁃asarone group α⁃asarone were administered once daily by intraperitoneal injection in 7 consecutive days. Bicinchoninic acid (BCA) method was used to measure the protein expression in hippocampus before and after α⁃asarone therapy. The endogenous international normalized ratio (INR) was calculated according to the standardization of hybridization fluorescence signal strength, and was used to measure the difference of protein expression between the two groups. INR ≥ 1.30 indicated the protein expression up ⁃ regulated while INR ≤ 0.77 indicated the protein expression down ⁃ regulated. Results Thirty⁃five differentially expressed proteins were found. In comparison with KA group 5 proteins presented higher expression, while 30 lower expression in α⁃asarone group, and most of them involved in signal transduction, cell cycle regulation, gene transcription and regulation, apoptosis, and neurobiological functions. Conclusion α ⁃ Asarone may regulate a variety of protein expression in hippocampus of rats with seizures induced by kainic acid, and it may indicate that the drug has multiple therapeutic targets.

DOI：10.3969/j.issn.1672⁃6731.2012.05.016