Lovastatin induces neuroprotection by inhibiting inflammatory cytokines in 6-hydroxydopamine treated microglia cells.

PURPOSE/AIM: This study aims to investigate the impact of lovastatin on neuroinflammation in 6-OHDA-treated microglia cells. MATERIALS AND METHODS: 6-Hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA)-treated microglia cells were used to investigate the neuroprotective nature of lovastatin. After incubation with 6-OHDA and/or lovastatin for 24 h, test kits were used to detect the levels of LDH and glutamate, which were released from PC12 cells exposed to different culture media. The mRNA levels of TNF-α, IL-6 and IL-1ß were determined by RT-PCR and the protein levels were analyzed by Western blot. RESULTS: LDH and glutamate levels in 6-OHDA-incubated PC12 cells increased, when compared with those in the controls, while incubation with lovastatin inhibited this elevation. The expression levels of TNF-α IL-6 and IL-1ß were significantly upregulated after treatment with 6-OHDA. The 6-OHDA-stimulated mRNA and protein levels of TNF-α IL-6 and IL-1ß were reduced by lovastatin. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that Lovastatin is able to induce neuroprotection by inhibiting inflammatory cytokines. The data provide direct evidence of the potential application of lovastatin for the treatment of neuroinflammatory diseases.

Effects of vitexin on the pharmacokinetics and mRNA expression of CYP isozymes in rats.

In traditional therapy with Chinese medicine, vitexin has several pharmacological properties, including antinociceptive, antispasmodic, antioxidant, antimyeloperoxidase, and α-glucosidase inhibitory activities. Recently, vitexin was shown to protect the heart against ischemia/reperfusion injury in an in vitro model by inhibiting apoptosis. The purpose of this study was to find out whether vitexin influences the effect on rat cytochrome P450 (CYP) enzymes (CYP1A2, CYP2C11, and CYP3A1) by using cocktail probe drugs in vivo; the influence on the levels of CYP mRNA was also studied. A cocktail solution at a dose of 5 mL/kg, which contained phenacetin (10 mg/kg), tolbutamide (1 mg/kg), and midazolam (5 mg/kg), was given as oral administration to rats treated with short or long period of intravenous vitexin via the caudal vein. Blood samples were collected at a series of time points, and the concentrations of probe drugs in plasma were determined by HPLC-mass spectrometry (MS)/MS. The corresponding pharmacokinetic parameters were calculated by the software of DAS 2.0. In addition, real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction was performed to determine the effects of vitexin on the mRNA expression of CYP1A2, CYP2C11, and CYP3A1 in rat liver. Treatment with short or long period of vitexin had no effects on rat CYP1A2. However, CYP3A1 enzyme activity was inhibited by vitexin in a concentration-dependent and time-dependent manner. Furthermore, CYP2C11 enzyme activity was induced after short period treatment but inhibited after long period of vitexin treatment. The mRNA expression results were in accordance with the pharmacokinetic results. In conclusion, vitexin can either inhibit or induce activities of CYP2C11 and CYP3A1. Therefore, caution is needed when vitexin is co-administered with some CYP2C11 or CYP3A1 substrates in clinic, which may result in treatment failure and herb-drug interactions.

Neuroprotective effect of lovastatin by inhibiting NMDA receptor1 in 6-hydroxydopamine treated PC12 cells.

In addition to original role of lowering cholesterol, statins display multiple neuroprotective mechanisms. In this study, 6-Hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA)-treated pheochromocytoma-12 (PC12) cells were used to investigate the neuroprotective nature of lovastatin. After incubation with 6-OHDA and/or lovastatin, test kits were used to detect the levels of LDH and glutamate, which were released from PC12 cells exposed to different culture media. The mRNA levels of TNF-α, and NMDAR1 were determined by RT-PCR and the protein levels were analyzed by western blot. Our results show that lovastatin significantly decreased both the mRNA and the protein levels of TNF-α and NMDAR1. ELISA assays revealed increased lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and glutamate binding activity in 6-OHDA-lesioned PC12 cells, and this increase could be prevented by lovastatin. Our results suggest that lovastatin induces neuroprotection by inhibiting NMDAR1 and TNF-α. The data provide direct evidence of the potential application of lovastatin for the treatment of parkinson's diseases.

Determination of cephalomannine in rat plasma by gradient elution UPLC-MS/MS method.

A rapid, sensitive and selective ultra-performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS) was developed and validated for the determination and pharmacokinetic investigation of cephalomannine in rat plasma. Sample preparation was accomplished through a simple one-step deproteinization procedure with 0.2 mL of perchloric acid-methanol (1:9, v/v) to a 0.1 mL plasma sample. Plasma samples were separated by UPLC on an Acquity UPLC BEH C18 column using a mobile phase consisting of acetonitrile-0.1% formic acid in water with gradient elution. The total run time was 2.0 min and the elution of cephalomannine was at 1.60 min. The detection was performed on a triple quadrupole tandem mass spectrometer in the multiple reaction-monitoring (MRM) mode using the respective transitions m/z 832.8→264.1 for cephalomannine and m/z 812.6→286.0 for 10-DAT (internal standard), respectively. The calibration curve was linear over the range of 10-2,000 ng/mL with a lower limit of quantitation (LLOQ) of 10 ng/mL. Mean recovery of cephalomannine in plasma was in the range of 80.9-85.3%. Intra-day and inter-day precision were both <11.2%. This method was successfully applied in pharmacokinetic study after intravenous administration of 5.0mg/kg cephalomannine in rats.