Pharmacodynamic Study of FS-0311: A Novel Highly Potent,Selective Acetylcholinesterase Inhibitor

(1) This study was to evaluate the anti-cholinesterase (ChE), cognition enhancing and neuroprotective effects of FS-0311, a bis-huperzine B derivative. (2) ChE activity was evaluated using a spectrophotometric method. Cognitive deficits in mice were induced by scopolamine or transient brain ischemia and reperfusion. Water maze was used to detect the cognitive performance. PC12 cell injury was induced by β-amyloid 25–35 (Aβ_25–35), oxygen-glucose deprivation (OGD), or staurosporine treatment. (3) FS-0311 was a potent, highly specific inhibitor of acetylcholinesterase (AChE). FS-0311 bound to AChE in a reversible manner, causing linear mixed-type inhibition. FS-0311 had a high oral bioavailability and a long duration of AChE inhibitory action in vivo. FS-0311 was found to antagonize cognitive deficits induced by scopolamine or transient brain ischemia and reperfusion in a water maze task. FS-0311 possessed the ability to protect PC12 cells against Aβ_25–35 peptide toxicity, OGD insult and staurosporine-induced apoptosis. The neuroprotective effects of FS-0311 appeared to reflect an attenuation of oxidative stress. (4) With the profile of anti-ChE and neuroprotective activities, FS-0311 might be a promising candidate in neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer’s disease and Vascular dementia.     

右美托咪定改善东莨菪碱导致的老年大鼠认知功能障碍

目的:探讨右美托咪定对东莨菪碱导致的老年大鼠认知功能障碍的影响及可能的作用机制。方法:20月龄老年雄性SD大鼠随机分为3组(n=15):东莨菪碱组(Sco组),东莨菪碱+右美托咪定组(Dex组),对照组(Con组)。Sco组给予东莨菪碱剂量为0.8 mg/kg,Dex组给予东莨菪碱0.8 mg/kg+右美托咪定20μg/kg,Con组给予等体积生理盐水。给药后2 h进行Morris水迷宫测试。所有测试结束后测定海马组织内氧化应激反应,选取指标为SOD,MDA;利用ELISA方法测定海马TNF-α,IL-1β含量。结果:Morris水迷宫结果显示,与Sco组相比,Dex组在第3、4天时,大鼠的逃避潜伏时间明显缩短(P0.05),平台区域的探索时间延长(P0.05)。与Sco组相比,右美托咪定干预后,Dex组海马区域SOD含量明显升高,MDA含量明显降低(P0.05),并且减轻了炎症因子TNF-α,IL-1β含量。结论:右美托咪定可有效减轻东莨菪碱导致的老年大鼠认知功能障碍,其机制可能涉及右美托咪定在大鼠海马区域的抗氧化应激和抗炎症反应。     

吗啡和胆碱能拮抗剂联合给药对小鼠Y迷宫空间记忆提取及活动性的影响(英文）

吗啡和胆碱能系统的相互作用已在多项研究中提到,本实验想查明吗啡是否能和胆碱能拮抗剂、东莨菪碱以及阿托品共同作用对小鼠的Y迷宫空间识别记忆提取产生影响。采用测试前腹腔给药的方法,选用3种剂量的吗啡(5、1.5、0.5mg/kg),两种剂量的东莨菪碱(1、0.1mg/kg),以及两种剂量的阿托品(0.5、0.1mg/kg),剂量由高到低相配对作为联合给药的手段。其结果表明:1)0.5mg/kg低剂量吗啡与0.1mg/kg低剂量的东莨菪碱,或与0.1mg/kg低剂量的阿托品联合给药的小鼠,在记忆提取测试中,空间探查行为(各臂停留时间百分比)对新异臂没有偏好,而新奇探索行为(各臂访问次数百分比)仍保持了对新异臂的偏好,而相应剂量药物单独给药的小鼠记忆提取均没有被损害;2)吗啡能和东莨菪碱相互作用使小鼠的活动性显著增强。暗示吗啡和胆碱能拮抗剂对小鼠空间记忆提取的破坏存在一定程度的相互作用。     

木本曼陀罗毛状根植株再生体系的建立

建立了木本曼陀罗(Datura arborea L.)毛状根的植株再生体系并对再生植株进行了初步检测.采用"一步法"诱导不定芽的适宜培养基为MS 6-BA 2.0 mg L-1 NAA 0.2 mg L-1;采用"两步法"诱导不定芽时,先在MS 6-BA 4.0 mg L-1 KT 0.5 mgL-1 2.4-D 0.5 mg L-1.上诱导愈伤组织,然后在MS 6-BA 4.0 mg L-1 NAA 0.2 mgL-1上诱导愈伤组织分化不定芽.诱导不定芽的最适宜生根培养基为1/2MS IBA 0.1 mgL-1.用PCR技术从再生植株叶片中得到了rolB、rolC目的基因片段.HPLC检测结果表明毛状根再生植株中莨菪烷类生物碱(Tropme alkaloids,TA)的含量较野生植株有明显的提高.     

Rapid in vitro adventitious shoot propagation of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Scopolia parviflora</Emphasis> through rhizome cultures for enhanced production of tropane alkaloids

A rapid micropropagation system for Scopolia parviflora Nakai (Solanaceae), a rare medicinal plant native to Korea, was established using rhizome cultures. Shoots that originated from adventitious shoots of the rhizome were multiplied when the rhizomes were cultured on half-strength B5 liquid medium supplemented with various growth regulators. Optimum shoot multiplication was observed in half-strength B5 medium containing 3% (w/v) sucrose and 5.77 M gibberellic acid (GA₃). Each rhizome gave rise to an average of 12 shoots. Shoot elongation and root induction from multiple shoots occurred on growth regulator-free half-strength B5 solid medium. Healthy plantlets were transferred to a peat moss:vermiculite mixture for acclimatization, which was successful. The concentrations of tropane alkaloids, hyoscyamine and scopolamine were determined in different tissues of native growing plants, in vitro-propagated plants and acclimatized plants by high-performance liquid chromatography. The analysis revealed that the levels of hyoscyamine and scopolamine were higher in in vitro-propagated plants than in the native growing plants. When the rhizome was cut into segments and transferred to optimal culture conditions for multiple shoot propagation, only 12 weeks were required to produce a mature plant. We conclude that in vitro propagation techniques through rhizome cultures provide an efficient and rapid method for shoot propagation of S. parviflora.Abbreviations BA Benzyladenine - 2,4-D 2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic acid - GA₃ Gibberellic acid - HPLC High-performance liquid chromatography - IBA Indole-3-butyric acid - NAA -Naphthaleneacetic acid     

开心散与去茯苓开心散改善拟AD动物学习记忆作用比较

目的比较开心散和去茯苓开心散对AD动物模型学习记忆的改善作用,了解茯苓在开心散复方中的作用。方法连续皮下注射D-半乳糖12周,第9周同时给予中药,第12周开始行为学检测。比较开心散及去茯苓开心散对拟AD动物学习记忆的改善作用;检测脑组织皮层区乙酰胆碱酯酶（AchE）、超氧化物歧化酶（SOD）的活力以及丙二醛（MDA）的含量。结果开心散能显著改善模型动物学习记忆能力;降低模型动物脑组织皮层区乙酰胆碱酯酶活力,升高超氧化物歧化酶活力,降低丙二醛含量;而去除茯苓的开心散对模型动物的学习记忆能力没有改善作用或作用减弱。结论开心散复方具有改善拟AD动物模型学习记忆障碍的作用,而茯苓是开心散复方中起重要作用的成分。     

Hyposensitivity to the amnesic effects of scopolamine or amyloid β25–35 peptide in heterozygous acetylcholinesterase knockout (AChE) mice

We examined the sensitivity of AChE^+/− mice to the amnesic effects of scopolamine and amyloid β peptide. AChE^+/− and AChE^+/+ littermates, tested at 5–9 weeks of age, failed to show any difference in locomotion, exploration and anxiety in the open-field test, or in-place learning in the water-maze. However, when treated with the muscarinic receptor antagonist scopolamine (0.5, 5 mg/kg s.c.) 20 min before each water-maze training session, learning impairments were observed at both doses in AChE^+/+ mice, but only at the highest dose in AChE^+/− mice. The central injection of Aβ_25–35 peptide (9 nmol) induced learning deficits only in AChE^+/+ but not in AChE^+/− mice. Therefore, the hyper-activity of cholinergic systems in AChE^+/− mice did not result in increased memory abilities, but prevented the deleterious effects of muscarinic blockade or amyloid toxicity.     

Enhancement of scopolamine production in Hyoscyamus muticus L. hairy root cultures by genetic engineering

 In order to test the possibility of enhancing the production of pharmaceutically valuable scopolamine in transgenic cultures, the 35S-h6h transgene that codes for the enzyme hyoscyamine-6β-hydroxylase (EC 1.14.11.11) was introduced into Hyoscyamus muticus L. strain Cairo (Egyptian henbane). This plant was chosen for its capability to produce very high amounts of tropane alkaloids (up to 6% of the dry weight in the leaves of mature plant). To our knowledge, this is the first time such a large population of transgenic cultures has been studied at the morphological, chemical and genetic levels. A great variation was observed in the tropane alkaloid production among the 43 positive transformants. The best clone (KB7) produced 17 mg/l scopolamine, which is over 100 times more than the control clones. However, conversion of hyoscyamine to scopolamine was still incomplete. The expression of h6h was found to be proportional to the scopolamine production, and was the main reason behind the variation in the scopolamine/hyoscyamine ratio in the hairy-root clones. These results indicate that H. muticus strain Cairo has a potential for even more enhanced scopolamine production with more efficient gene-expression systems. Received: 24 December 1998 / Accepted: 13 January 1999     

Determination of scopolamine in human serum by gas chromatography-ion trap tandem mass spectrometry

The objective of this study was to develop a very sensitive and selective method for the determination of scopolamine in serum with a rapid and simple sample preparation. A capillary column gas chromatographic-ion trap tandem mass spectrometric technique has been applied. Scopolamine and the internal standard mexiletine were extracted from serum samples and cleaned up by using a single step liquid-liquid extraction. Derivatization was carried out using 2,2,2-trifluoro-N-methyl-N-trimethylsilylacetamide. The mass spectrometer was operated with positive ions in the selected reaction mode with chemical ionisation using methane. The sum of peak height of two daughter ions was used for quantification. The detection limit was 50 pg/ml in serum.     

Quantitative in vivo receptor binding IV: Detection of muscarinic receptor down-regulation by equilibrium and by tracer kinetic methods

Newly-developed methods for estimation of in vivo binding to neurotransmitter receptors should enable the detection and quantification of physiologic or pathologic changes in receptor numbers. In the present study, both equilibrium and kinetic experimental strategies for in vivo muscarinic receptor determination were applied to the detection of receptor changes induced by chronic inhibition of acetylcholinesterase in the rat. Following one week of treatment, in vitro receptor autoradiography utilizing [³H]scopolamine revealed significant losses of muscarinic binding in the cerebral cortex, hippocampus, striatum and in cranial nerve motor nuclei. The in vivo distribution of [³H]scopolamine, following infusion to approach equilibrium binding in the brain, revealed reductions in binding which paralleled the pattern and magnitude of changes detected in vitro. A simplified tracer kinetic estimation following bolus injection of the ligand also detected substantial reductions in forebrain muscarinic receptor binding. These results indicate the feasibility of detecting receptor changes underlying neuropathologic conditions in vivo, and suggest that either equilibrium or kinetic experimental approaches may be extended to clinical research applications with the use of positron or single-photon emission tomography.Special issue dedicated to Dr. Louis Sokoloff.