Pretreated quercetin protects gerbil hippocampal CA1 pyramidal neurons from transient cerebral ischemic injury by increasing the expression of antioxidant enzymes

Bai Hui Chen; Joon Ha Park; Ji Hyeon Ahn; Jeong Hwi Cho; In Hye Kim; Jae Chul Lee; Moo-Ho Won; Choong-Hyun Lee; In Koo Hwang; Jong-Dai Kim; Il Jun Kang; Jun Hwi Cho; Bich Na Shin; Yang Hee Kim; Yun Lyul Lee; Seung Min Park

doi:10.4103/1673-5374.200805

Pretreated quercetin protects gerbil hippocampal CA1 pyramidal neurons from transient cerebral ischemic injury by increasing the expression of antioxidant enzymes

Neural Regen Res. 2017 Feb;12(2):220-227. doi: 10.4103/1673-5374.200805.

Authors

Bai Hui Chen¹, Joon Ha Park², Ji Hyeon Ahn², Jeong Hwi Cho³, In Hye Kim³, Jae Chul Lee³, Moo-Ho Won³, Choong-Hyun Lee⁴, In Koo Hwang⁵, Jong-Dai Kim⁶, Il Jun Kang⁷, Jun Hwi Cho⁸, Bich Na Shin⁹, Yang Hee Kim¹⁰, Yun Lyul Lee⁹, Seung Min Park¹¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Histology and Embryology, Institute of Neuroscience, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, Zhejiang Province, China.
² Department of Biomedical Science and Research Institute for Bioscience and Biotechnology, Hallym University, Chuncheon, South Korea.
³ Department of Neurobiology, School of Medicine, Kangwon National University, Chuncheon, South Korea.
⁴ Department of Pharmacy, College of Pharmacy, Dankook University, Cheonan, South Korea.
⁵ Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, College of Veterinary Medicine, and Research Institute for Veterinary Science, Seoul National University, Seoul, South Korea.
⁶ Division of Food Biotechnology, School of Biotechnology, Kangwon National University, Chuncheon, South Korea.
⁷ Department of Food Science and Nutrition, Hallym University, Chuncheon, South Korea.
⁸ Department of Emergency Medicine, School of Medicine, Kangwon National University, Chuncheon, South Korea.
⁹ Department of Physiology, College of Medicine, and Institute of Neurodegeneration and Neuroregeneration, Hallym University, Chuncheon, South Korea.
¹⁰ Department of Surgery, School of Medicine, Kangwon National University, Chuncheon, South Korea.
¹¹ Department of Emergency Medicine, Sacred Heart Hospital, College of Medicine, Hallym University, Anyang, South Korea.

Abstract

Quercetin (QE; 3,5,7,3',4'-pentahydroxyflavone), a well-known flavonoid, has been shown to prevent against neurodegenerative disorders and ischemic insults. However, few studies are reported regarding the neuroprotective mechanisms of QE after ischemic insults. Therefore, in this study, we investigated the effects of QE on ischemic injury and the expression of antioxidant enzymes in the hippocampal CA1 region of gerbils subjected to 5 minutes of transient cerebral ischemia. QE was pre-treated once daily for 15 days before ischemia. Pretreatment with QE protected hippocampal CA1 pyramidal neurons from ischemic injury, which was confirmed by neuronal nuclear antigen immunohistochemistry and Fluoro-Jade B histofluorescence staining. In addition, pretreatment with QE significantly increased the expression levels of endogenous antioxidant enzymes Cu/Zn superoxide dismutase, Mn superoxide dismutase, catalase and glutathione peroxidase in the hippocampal CA1 pyramidal neurons of animals with ischemic injury. These findings demonstrate that pretreated QE displayed strong neuroprotective effects against transient cerebral ischemia by increasing the expression of antioxidant enzymes.

Keywords: Cu/Zn superoxide dismutase; Mn superoxide dismutase; catalase; flavonoids; glutathione peroxidase; nerve regeneration; neural regeneration; transient cerebral ischemia.