Antidepressant effects of a plant-derived flavonoid baicalein involving extracellular signal-regulated kinases cascade.

Depression and related mood disorders are among the world's greatest public health problems. Previous studies have demonstrated that baicalein (Bai), one plant-derived active flavonoid, exhibits neuroprotection against ischemic brain injury and stimulates the levels of phosphorylation of extracellular signal-regulated kinase (pERK) and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) expression in vivo. In this study, the antidepressant-like effects of baicalein was investigated using acute and chronic animal models of depression. The results showed that acute application of Bai at doses of 1, 2 and 4 mg/kg by intraperitoneal injection (i.p.) significantly reduced the immobility time in the forced swimming test (FST) and tail suspending test (TST) of mice. In addition, the chronic application of Bai by i.p. for 21 d also reduced the immobility time and improved locomotor activity in chronic unpredictable mild stress (CMS) model rats. Furthermore, it was shown that Bai reversed the reduction of extracellular ERKs phosphorylation and the level of BDNF expression in the hippocampus of CMS model rats. These results suggest that Bai produce an antidepressant-like effect and this effect is at least partly mediated by hippocampal ERK-mediated neurotrophic action.

[1]  Dong Hyun Kim,et al.  Mismatch between changes in baicalein-induced memory-related biochemical parameters and behavioral consequences in mouse , 2010, Brain Research.

[2]  M. Popoli,et al.  Early-life stress and antidepressant treatment involve synaptic signaling and Erk kinases in a gene-environment model of depression. , 2010, Journal of psychiatric research.

[3]  Xiong Cao,et al.  Fuzi polysaccharide-1 produces antidepressant-like effects in mice. , 2010, The international journal of neuropsychopharmacology.

[4]  C. Hiemke,et al.  A common mechanism of action of the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors citalopram and fluoxetine: reversal of chronic psychosocial stress-induced increase in CRE/CREB-directed gene transcription in transgenic reporter gene mice. , 2010, European journal of pharmacology.

[5]  M. Bilgen,et al.  Small molecule BDNF mimetics activate TrkB signaling and prevent neuronal degeneration in rodents. , 2010, The Journal of clinical investigation.

[6]  K. Kawabata,et al.  Suppressive effect of quercetin on acute stress-induced hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis response in Wistar rats. , 2010, The Journal of nutritional biochemistry.

[7]  Hyejung Lee,et al.  Antidepressant-like effect of the methanolic extract from Bupleurum falcatum in the tail suspension test , 2010, Progress in Neuro-Psychopharmacology and Biological Psychiatry.

[8]  Chao Liu,et al.  Neuroprotection by baicalein in ischemic brain injury involves PTEN/AKT pathway , 2010, Journal of neurochemistry.

[9]  Rui Wang,et al.  Curcumin produces neuroprotective effects via activating brain-derived neurotrophic factor/TrkB-dependent MAPK and PI-3K cascades in rodent cortical neurons , 2010, Progress in Neuro-Psychopharmacology and Biological Psychiatry.

[10]  D. Overstreet,et al.  Nerve growth factor (NGF) has novel antidepressant-like properties in rats , 2010, Pharmacology Biochemistry and Behavior.

[11]  A. Ding,et al.  Orthogonal array design for antidepressant compatibility of polysaccharides from Banxia-Houpu decoction, a traditional Chinese herb prescription in the mouse models of depression , 2009, Archives of pharmacal research.

[12]  F. Borrelli,et al.  Herb–Drug Interactions with St John’s Wort (Hypericum perforatum): an Update on Clinical Observations , 2009, The AAPS Journal.

[13]  Fang Wang,et al.  Protection by tetrahydroxystilbene glucoside against cerebral ischemia: involvement of JNK, SIRT1, and NF-kappaB pathways and inhibition of intracellular ROS/RNS generation. , 2009, Free radical biology & medicine.

[14]  M. Zhuo,et al.  Induction of Neuronal Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Expression by cAMP in the Dentate Gyrus of the Hippocampus Is Required for Antidepressant-Like Behaviors , 2009, The Journal of Neuroscience.

[15]  J. John Mann,et al.  Antidepressants increase neural progenitor cells in the human hippocampus , 2009, Neuropsychopharmacology.

[16]  H. Manji,et al.  Evidence for Involvement of ERK, PI3K, and RSK in Induction of Bcl-2 by Valproate , 2009, Journal of Molecular Neuroscience.

[17]  Rusheng Zhang,et al.  Efficacy of risperidone augmentation to antidepressants in the management of suicidality in major depressive disorder: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled pilot study. , 2008, The Journal of clinical psychiatry.

[18]  P. Maher.  The flavonoid fisetin promotes nerve cell survival from trophic factor withdrawal by enhancement of proteasome activity. , 2008, Archives of biochemistry and biophysics.

[19]  Junfa Li,et al.  Fluoxetine increases the activity of the ERK-CREB signal system and alleviates the depressive-like behavior in rats exposed to chronic forced swim stress , 2008, Neurobiology of Disease.

[20]  N. Ip,et al.  Nerve growth factor-induced stimulation of p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase in PC12 cells is partially mediated via G(i/o) proteins. , 2008, Cellular signalling.

[21]  I. Heuser,et al.  Serum Concentrations of Nerve Growth Factor and Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor in Depressed Patients before and after Antidepressant Treatment , 2008, Pharmacopsychiatry.

[22]  Fang Wang,et al.  Puerarin facilitates Ca2+ -induced Ca2+ release triggered by KCl-depolarization in primary cultured rat hippocampal neurons , 2007 .

[23]  M. Drew,et al.  Adult hippocampal neurogenesis as target for the treatment of depression. , 2007, CNS & neurological disorders drug targets.

[24]  Wei Li,et al.  Antidepressant like effects of piperine in chronic mild stress treated mice and its possible mechanisms. , 2007, Life sciences.

[25]  Fang Wang,et al.  Baicalein improves cognitive deficits induced by chronic cerebral hypoperfusion in rats , 2007, Pharmacology Biochemistry and Behavior.

[26]  C. Pike,et al.  Norepinephrine induces BDNF and activates the PI-3K and MAPK cascades in embryonic hippocampal neurons. , 2007, Cellular signalling.

[27]  Fang Wang,et al.  Protective effects of breviscapine on ischemic vascular dementia in rats. , 2006, Biological & pharmaceutical bulletin.

[28]  A. Frazer,et al.  Leptin: A potential novel antidepressant , 2006, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.

[29]  R. Levine,et al.  Neuroprotection by NGF in the PC12 in vitro OGD model: involvement of mitogen-activated protein kinases and gene expression. , 2005 .

[30]  P. Willner.  Chronic Mild Stress (CMS) Revisited: Consistency and Behavioural-Neurobiological Concordance in the Effects of CMS , 2005, Neuropsychobiology.

[31]  R. Levine,et al.  Neuroprotection by NGF in the PC12 In Vitro OGD Model , 2005, Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences.

[32]  F. Angelucci,et al.  Neurotrophic factors and CNS disorders: findings in rodent models of depression and schizophrenia. , 2004, Progress in brain research.

[33]  I. Lucki.  The forced swimming test as a model for core and component behavioral effects of antidepressant drugs. , 1997, Behavioural pharmacology.

[34]  T. Archer,et al.  Behavior of mother rats in conflict tests sensitive to antianxiety agents. , 1989, Behavioral neuroscience.

[35]  R. Porsolt,et al.  Depression: a new animal model sensitive to antidepressant treatments , 1977, Nature.