Danggui Buxue Tang, a simple Chinese formula containing Astragali Radix and Angelicae Sinensis Radix, stimulates the expressions of neurotrophic factors in cultured SH-SY5Y cells

• Published in: Chinese medicine 2017-08, Vol.12 (1), p.24-24, Article 24
• Main Authors: Gong, Amy G W, Wang, Huai Y, Dong, Tina T X, Tsim, Karl W K, Zheng, Y Z
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Aging; Blood; Brain; Brain-derived neurotrophic factor; Chinese herbal medicine; Chinese medicine; Chromatography; Cyclic AMP response element-binding protein; Flavonoids; Gene expression; Genetic aspects; Glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor; Growth factors; Herbal medicine; Hypoxia; Kinases; MAP kinase; Metabolic pathways; Nerve growth factor; Neural coding; Neuroblastoma; Neuroblasts; Neurogenesis; Neuronal-glial interactions; Neurotrophic factors; Neurotrophins; Oxidative stress; Penicillin; Promoters; Proteins; Raw materials; Rodents; Solvents; Traditional Chinese medicine; Transcription activation; Western blotting
• ISSN: 1749-8546; 1749-8546
• DOI: 10.1186/s13020-017-0144-y

Danggui Buxue Tang (DBT), a phytoestrogen-enriched Chinese herbal formula, serves as dietary supplement in stimulating the " " functions of menopausal women. In traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) theory, has a strong relationship with brain activities. Previous studies supported that some ingredients of DBT possessed neuronal beneficial functions. Therefore, the neurotrophic function and the mechanistic action of DBT were systematically evaluated in cultured human neuroblastoma SH-SY5Y cells. The DBT-triggered protein expressions were analyzed by western blotting, while the transcriptional activities of promoters coding for related genes were revealed by luciferase assays. For mechanistic analysis of DBT, Erk1/2 and its inhibitor U0126 were analyzed. The application of DBT in cultured neuroblastoma cells showed the efficacies in: (1) up-regulation of nerve growth factor (NGF), brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF); (2) activation of transcriptional activities of promoters coding for NGF, BDNF, GDNF; (3) activation of Erk1/2 and CREB; and (4) attenuation of the neurotrophic factor expression by the treatment of an Erk1/2 inhibitor. Our study supports that MAPK/Erk pathway acts as fundamental role in monitoring DBT-induced expression of neurotrophic factors in cultured human neuroblastoma cell. These results shed light in developing the working mechanism of this ancient herbal decoction for its neuronal function.