Shenfu injection improves cognitive dysfunction in vascular dementia mouse model via the NOS/NO pathway

Abstract

Obsjective: To investigate the treatment effects and underline mechanism of Shenfu injection on cognitive dysfunction in vascular dementia(VD) model mice. Methods: Male mice were randomly divided into a Sham, VD, SFI, L-Arg, and L-NAME group. VD mouse was made by repeated ischemia and perfusion by clipping the bilateral common carotid arteries and simultaneously injecting with sodium nitroprusside intraperitoneally. Mouse was subjected to corresponding pharmacological intervention for 21 days while mouse in sham and VD groups was administered saline. Morris water maze were employed to assess learning and memory ability, and HE and Nissl staining were used to analyze pathological changes. Serum NO level,ROS, MDA, and GSH in brain tissue were assessed by biochemical methods. iNOS, nNOS, and eNOS protein expressions were detected by western blotting. Results: Compared with the VD group, the learning and memory abilities of mice in SFI and L-NAME groups were improved, pathological damage of the hippocampal CA1 region of mice in these groups was significantly improved, NO, ROS, and MDA contents were decreased, GSH level and eNOS protein expression were increased, and iNOS and nNOS protein expression were significantly decreased(P<0. 01, P<0. 05). However, L-Arg treated mice showed no significant improvements in these indexes when compared to the VD group. Conclusion: SFI may improve the cognitive dysfunction in vascular dementia mouse model via the NOS/NO pathway