Berberine exerts antidepressant-like effects via regulating miR-34a-synaptotagmin1/Bcl-2 axis / 中草药·英文版
Chinese Herbal Medicines
; (4): 116-123, 2021.
Article
in Zh
| WPRIM
| ID: wpr-953686
Responsible library:
WPRO
ABSTRACT
Objective: Berberine, a cationic alkaloid first isolated in 1917, has been approved by the China Drug Administration for decades. Accumulating evidence demonstrated its antidepressant-like activities in vivo. Our previous study has shown that chronic stress leads to the upregulation of miR-34a in the hippocampus of mice. This study aims to evaluate the underlying miR-34a mediated mechanism of berberine in chronic stress-induced depression in mice. Methods: In the present study, mice were administered with berberine during chronic stress. Levels of miR-34a, dendritic density, mitochondrial morphology, and neurogenesis were assessed in the hippocampus. Subsequently, miR-34a agomir was used as a pharmacological intervention for the investigation of berberine. Results: The results showed that berberine reversed the decrease in sucrose preference and the increase in latency to feed without altering total food consumption. Furthermore, chronic stress-induced overexpression of miR-34a decreased synaptotagmin-1 and Bcl-2 levels, thereby impairing spinal morphology, mitochondria and neurogenesis. Berberine inhibited miR-34a expression, in turn restored synaptotagmin-1 and Bcl-2 levels, and thus improved spinal morphology, mitochondria and neurogenesis in the hippocampus. However, the improvements induced by berberine were totally blocked by the pretreatment of miR-34a agomir, which caused the elevation of miR-34a levels in the hippocampus. Conclusion: This finding demonstrated that miR-34a downregulation was involved in the antidepressant-like effects of berberine in mice exposed to chronic stress.
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Index:
WPRIM
Language:
Zh
Journal:
Chinese Herbal Medicines
Year:
2021
Type:
Article