机构：[1]Department of Neurology, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou City, Jiangsu Province, People’s Republic of China,[2]Institute of Neuroscience, Soochow University, Suzhou City, Jiangsu Province, People’s Republic of China,[3]Department of Toxicology, School of Public Health, Soochow University, Suzhou City, Jiangsu Province, People’s Republic of China,[4]Department of Emergency Medicine, Brain Research Laboratory, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia, United States of America
Carvacrol (CAR), a naturally occurring monoterpenic phenol and food additive, has been shown to have antimicrobials, antitumor, and antidepressant-like activities. A previous study demonstrated that CAR has the ability to protect liver against ischemia/reperfusion injury in rats. In this study, we investigated the protective effects of CAR on cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury in a middle cerebral artery occlusion mouse model. We found that CAR (50 mg/kg) significantly reduced infarct volume and improved neurological deficits after 75 min of ischemia and 24 h of reperfusion. This neuroprotection was in a dose-dependent manner. Post-treatment with CAR still provided protection on infarct volume when it was administered intraperitoneally at 2 h after reperfusion; however, intracerebroventricular post-treatment reduced infarct volume even when the mice were treated with CAR at 6 h after reperfusion. These findings indicated that CAR has an extended therapeutic window, but delivery strategies may affect the protective effects of CAR. Further, we found that CAR significantly decreased the level of cleaved caspase-3, a marker of apoptosis, suggesting the anti-apoptotic activity of CAR. Finally, our data indicated that CAR treatment increased the level of phosphorylated Akt and the neuroprotection of CAR was reversed by a PI3K inhibitor LY-294002, demonstrating the involvement of the PI3K/Akt pathway in the anti-apoptotic mechanisms of CAR. Due to its safety and wide use in the food industry, CAR is a promising agent to be translated into clinical trials.
基金：
This study was supported by grants 81071095 and 81120108011 from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (to XX) and the Priority
Academic Program Development of Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions of China
第一作者机构：[1]Department of Neurology, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou City, Jiangsu Province, People’s Republic of China,[2]Institute of Neuroscience, Soochow University, Suzhou City, Jiangsu Province, People’s Republic of China,
共同第一作者：
通讯作者：
通讯机构：[1]Department of Neurology, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou City, Jiangsu Province, People’s Republic of China,[2]Institute of Neuroscience, Soochow University, Suzhou City, Jiangsu Province, People’s Republic of China,
推荐引用方式(GB/T 7714)：
Hailong Yu,Zeng-Li Zhang,Jing Chen,et al.Carvacrol, a Food-Additive, Provides Neuroprotection on Focal Cerebral Ischemia/Reperfusion Injury in Mice[J].PLOS ONE.2012,7(3):e33584.doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0033584.
APA：
Hailong Yu,Zeng-Li Zhang,Jing Chen,Aijie Pei,Fang Hua...&Xingshun Xu.(2012).Carvacrol, a Food-Additive, Provides Neuroprotection on Focal Cerebral Ischemia/Reperfusion Injury in Mice.PLOS ONE,7,(3)
MLA：
Hailong Yu,et al."Carvacrol, a Food-Additive, Provides Neuroprotection on Focal Cerebral Ischemia/Reperfusion Injury in Mice".PLOS ONE 7..3(2012):e33584
