Multiple Combination of Angelica gigas Extract and Mesenchymal Stem Cells Enhances Therapeutic Effect.

Alternative medicines attract attention because stroke is rarely expected to make a full recovery with the most advanced medical technology. Angelica gigas (AG) is a well-known herbal medicine as a neuroprotective agent. The present study introduced mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) to identify for the advanced treatment of the cerebrovascular disease. The objective of this research is validation of the enhanced effects of multiple combined treatment of AG extract with MSCs on stroke through angiogenesis. Our results confirmed that AG extract with MSCs improved the neovascularization increasing expression of angiogenesis-regulated molecules. The changes of brain and the behavioral ability showed the increased effects of AG extract with MSCs. As a result, AG extract and MSCs may synergistically increase the therapeutic potential by enhancing neovascularization. This mixed approach provides a new experimental protocol of herbal medicine therapy for the treatment of a variety of diseases including stroke, trauma, and spinal cord injury.

Salvia miltiorrhiza enhances the survival of mesenchymal stem cells under ischemic conditions.

OBJECTIVES: To validate the enhanced therapeutic effect of Salvia miltiorrhiza Bunge (SM) for brain ischemic stroke through the anti-apoptotic and survival ability of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs). METHODS: The viability and the expression level of cell apoptotic and survival-related proteins in MSCs by treatment of SM were assessed in vitro. In addition, the infarcted brain region and the behavioural changes after treatment of MSCs with SM were confirmed in rat middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAo) models. KEY FINDINGS: We demonstrated that SM attenuates apoptosis and improves the cell viability of MSCs. In the rat MCAo model, the recovery of the infarcted region and positive changes of behaviour are observed after treatment of MSCs with SM. CONCLUSIONS: The therapy using SM enhances the therapeutic effect for brain ischemic stroke by promoting the survival of MSCs. This synergetic effect thereby proposes a new experimental approach of traditional Chinese medicine and stem cell-based therapies for patients suffering from a variety of diseases.

Effect of chongmyungtang, a traditional Korean polyherbal formula, on the Pharmacokinetic profiles of donepezil in rats.

Chongmyungtang (CMT) is a famous Korean herbal medicine for improving learning and memory, which has been reported to have anti-cholinergic and neuroprotective effects. Therefore, drug-drug interactions were examined between CMT and donepezil as a first screening of combination therapy for cognitive deficits. Rats received oral co-administration of donepezil with distilled water as a control or donepezil with CMT as a combination. The distilled water or CMT was co-administered at intervals within 5min after donepezil or 1.5h intervals. The plasma samples were analyzed for donepezil concentration and its pharmacokinetic parameters of Tmax, Cmax, AUC, t1/2 and MRTinf. In the single co-administration at intervals within 5min, donepezil was detected lower in the combination than control at 0.5h and 2h post-treatment (P<0.05). In addition, the combination showed significant increases in MRTinf compared to the control (P<0.05). This suggests drug-drug interactions between donepezil and CMT in the co-administration within 5 min. However, no meaningful differences were found in the pharmacokinetic profiles of donepezil by single dosing with CMT at 1.5h intervals and even by the repeated dosing for a week at 1.5h intervals potential combination therapy of donepezil with CMT.

Shengmai-san-mediated enhancement of regenerative responses of spinal cord axons after injury in rats.

Shengmai-san (SMS) is a traditional Chinese medicine used to treat diverse symptoms including cardiovascular and neurological disorders. Here we investigated the effects of SMS on regenerative responses of spinal cord axons in rats that were given contusion injury at the lower thoracic level. The injury cavity was confined to a restricted area by SMS treatment, and the signals of glial scar protein chondroitin sulphate proteoglycan (CSPG) and inflammatory cell marker protein CD11beta were heavily observed within the injury cavity in SMS-treated animals. Anterograde tracing of DiI-labeled corticospinal tract (CST) axons revealed increases in collateral arborization around and within the injury cavity and caudal elongation by SMS treatment. Furthermore, SMS treatment facilitated neurite elongation of dorsal root ganglion (DRG) sensory neurons that were co-cultured with non-neuronal cells prepared from injured spinal cord. Phospho-Erk1/2 was strongly induced in both spinal cord and motor cortical areas after spinal cord injury (SCI), and it was further unregulated in the motor cortex by SMS treatment. In contrast, upregulation of cell division cycle 2 (Cdc2) production by SMS treatment was limited to a local, SCI area. These data suggest that SMS may play an active role in regenerative responses and facilitate axonal regrowth after SCI.