Lupeol inhibits LPS-induced neuroinflammation in cerebellar cultures and induces neuroprotection associated to the modulation of astrocyte response and expression of neurotrophic and inflammatory factors.

In the central nervous system (CNS), neuroinflammation, especially that modulated by the cell response of astrocytes and microglia, is associated with damage to neurons in neurodegenerative disorders such as Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease and, Multiple Sclerosis. Lupeol is a dietary triterpene that has demonstrated biological activities as antioxidant. This study investigated the anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective effects of lupeol in an in vitro model of neuroinflammation in primary cerebellar cultures. Cultures were obtained from 6-day-old Wistar rats, subjected to inflammatory damage with lipopolysaccharide (LPS, 1 µg/mL) and treated with lupeol (0.1 µM). We observed, after a 48-hour treatment, through Fluorjade-B staining and immunocytochemistry (ICQ) for ßIII-tubulin, that lupeol induced neuroprotection in cultures submitted to inflammatory damage. On the other hand, through ICQ for GFAP, it was possible to observe that lupeol modulated the astrocyte morphology for Bergmann glia-like phenotype and, especially for velate astrocyte-like phenotype, both phenotypes associated with the neuroprotective profile. Moreover, RT-qPCR analysis showed that lupeol induced the down-regulation of the mRNA expression for proinflammatory markers TNF, iNOS and NLRP3, as well as the production of nitric oxide (method of Greiss), which were up-regulated by LPS, and also induced up-regulation of the mRNA expression for arginase and IL-6 mRNA. In addition, lupeol induced up-regulation of mRNA expression for neurotrophins GDNF and NGF and also for the sonic hedgehog-Gli pathway. Together, these results lead to the conclusion that lupeol inhibits neuroinflammation in cerebellar cultures and induces neuroprotection associated with the modulation of astrocyte response and expression of neurotrophic and inflammatory factors.

Estrogen and Thyroid Hormone Receptor Activation by Medicinal Plants from Bahia, Brazil.

Background: A number of medicinal plants are traditionally used for metabolic disorders in Bahia state, Brazil. The aim of this study was to evaluate the estrogen receptor (ER) and thyroid receptor (TR) activation of crude extracts prepared from 20 plants. Methods: Species were extracted and assayed for receptor activation through both ER and TR gene-reporter assays, using 17ß-estradiol and triiodothyronine (T3), respectively, as the positive controls. Results: Cajanus cajan (Fabaceae), Abarema cochliacarpus (Fabaceae), and Borreria verticillata (Rubiaceae) were able to activate ER as much as the positive control (17ß-estradiol). These three plant species were also assayed for TR activation. At the concentration of 50 µg/mL, C. cajans exerted the highest positive modulation on TR, causing an activation of 59.9%, while B. verticillata and A. cochliacarpus caused 30.8% and 23.3%, respectively. Conclusions: Our results contribute towards the validation of the traditional use of C. cajans, B. verticillata, and A. cochliacarpus in the treatment of metabolic disorders related to ER and TR functions. The gene-reporter assay was proven effective in screening crude plant extracts for ER/TR activation, endorsing this methodology as an important tool for future bioprospection studies focused on identifying novel starting molecules for the development of estrogen and thyroid agonists.