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Hydroxysafflor yellow A improves learning and memory in a rat model of vascular dementia by increasing VEGF and NR1 in the hippocampus

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Abstract

Hydroxysafflor yellow A (HSYA) has angiogenesisregulating and neuro-protective effects, but its effects on vascular dementia (VaD) are unknown. In this study, 30 adult Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly allocated to five groups: normal, sham-operation, VaD alone (bilateral carotid artery occlusion), VaD plus saline (control), and VaD plus HSYA. One week after operation, the HSYA group received one daily tail-vein injection of 0.6 mg/100 g HSYA for two weeks. Five weeks after operation, the spatial memory of all five groups was evaluated by the water maze task, and synaptic plasticity in the hippocampus was assessed by the long-term potentiation (LTP) method. Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and N-methyl-Daspartic acid receptor 1 (NR1) expression in the hippocampus was detected via Western blot. We found that, compared with the group with VaD alone, the group with HSYA had a reduced escape latency in the water maze (P < 0.05), and the LTP at CA3-CA1 synapses in the hippocampus was enhanced (P < 0.05). Western blot in the late-phase VaD group showed slight up-regulation of VEGF and downregulation of NR1 in the hippocampus, while HSYA significantly up-regulated both VEGF and NR1. These results suggested that HSYA promotes angiogenesis and increases synaptic plasticity, thus improving spatial learning and memory in the rat model of VaD.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Neurology, Tianjin Medical University General Hospital, Tianjin, 300052, China

    Nan Zhang, Mengya Xing, Fudong Shi & Yan Cheng

  2. Tianjin Neurological Institute; Key Laboratory of Post-traumatic Neuro-repair and Regeneration in the Central Nervous System, Ministry of Education; Tianjin Key Laboratory of Injuries, Variations and Regeneration of the Nervous System, Tianjin, 300052, China

    Nan Zhang, Mengya Xing, Hao Liang, Fudong Shi & Yan Cheng

  3. Tianjin Haihe Hospital, Tianjin, 300350, China

    Yiyi Wang

  4. Nankai University, Tianjin, 300071, China

    Zhuo Yang

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  1. Nan Zhang
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  2. Mengya Xing
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Correspondence to Yan Cheng.

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Zhang, N., Xing, M., Wang, Y. et al. Hydroxysafflor yellow A improves learning and memory in a rat model of vascular dementia by increasing VEGF and NR1 in the hippocampus. Neurosci. Bull. 30, 417–424 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12264-013-1375-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12264-013-1375-2

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