Drug-Loaded Nanoparticles from 'Ershiwuwei Shanhu' Pill Induced Cellular Swelling of SH-SY5Y Neuroblastoma Cells.

Drug-loaded nanoparticles from 'Ershiwuwei Shanhu' Pill (ESP) inducing cellular swelling of the SH-SY5Y neuroblastoma cells were investigated. Electron microscope was used to observe nanoparticles existing in the freeze-dried supernatant of 'Ershiwuwei Shanhu' Pill. Drug-free nanoparticles were obtained from the solution of drug-loaded nanoparticles via dialysis. The size and zeta potential of two kinds of nanoparticles were tested by granularmetric analysis and surface charge analysis. Results showed that nanoparticles could penetrate into cellular nucleus and caused cell swelling. CCK8 analysis implied that low concentration of drug-free nanoparticles from 'Ershiwuwei Shanhu' Pill can induce cell proliferation of the SH-SY5Y neuroblastoma cells, while drug-loaded nanoparticles can reduce cell viability through NF-κB pathway. Drug-loaded nanoparticles existed in 'Ershiwuwei Shanhu' pill might play a vital role during pharmacotherapy, which served as nanocarriers in delivering drugs into cells.

Rannasangpei Is a Therapeutic Agent in the Treatment of Vascular Dementia.

Rannasangpei (RSNP) is used as a therapeutic agent in the treatment of cardiovascular diseases, neurological disorders, and neurodegeneration in China; however, its potential use in the treatment of vascular dementia (VD) was unclear. In this study, our aim was to examine the neuroprotective effect of RSNP in a VD rat model, which was induced by permanent bilateral common carotid artery occlusion (2VO). Four-week administration with two doses of RSNP was investigated in our study. Severe cognitive deficit in the VD model, which was confirmed in Morris water maze (MWM) test, was significantly restored by the administration of RSNP. ELISA revealed that the treatments with both doses of RSNP could reinstate the cholinergic activity in the VD animals by elevating the production of choline acetyltransferase (ChAT) and reducing the acetylcholinesterase (AChE); the treatment of RSNP could also reboot the level of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and decrease malondialdehyde (MDA). Moreover, Western blot and quantitative PCR (Q-PCR) results indicated that the RSNP could suppress the apoptosis in the hippocampus of the VD animals by increasing the expression ratio of B-cell lymphoma-2 (Bcl-2) to Bcl-2-associated X protein (Bax). These results suggested that RSNP might be a therapeutic agent in the treatment of vascular dementia in the future.