Journal of neuroscience research
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Male and female rodents respond differently to acute stress. We tested our hypothesis that this sex difference is based on differences in stress sensitivity of forebrain areas, by determining possible effects of a single acute psychogenic stressor (1-hr restraint stress) on neuronal gene expression (c-Fos and FosB immunoreactivities), storage of corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) immunoreactivity, and CRF production (CRF mRNA in situ hybridization) as well as the expression of genes associated with epigenetic processes (quantitative RT-PCR) in the rat paraventricular nucleus (PVN), the oval and fusiform subdivisions of the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BSTov and BSTfu, respectively), and the central amygdala (CeA), in both males and females. ⋯ In the BSTfu, males and females showed similar stress-induced increases in c-Fos and FosB, whereas in the CeA, both sexes revealed similar increases in c-Fos and in CRF mRNA. We conclude that male and female rats differ in their reactivity to acute stress with respect to possibly epigenetically mediated (particularly in the PVN) neuronal gene expression and neuropeptide dynamics (PVN and BSTov) and that this difference may contribute to the sex dependence of the animal's physiological and behavioral responses to an acute stressor.
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Inflammation and oxidative stress play major roles in the pathogenesis after spinal cord injury (SCI). Here, we examined the neuroprotective effects of Angelica dahuricae radix (ADR) extract after SCI. ADR extract significantly decreased the levels of proinflammatory factors such as tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin-1β (IL-1β), interleukin-6 (IL-6), inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) in a lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-activated microglial cell line, BV2 cells. ⋯ In addition, ADR extract inhibited p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase activation and pronerve growth factor expression in microglia after SCI. Furthermore, ADR extract significantly inhibited caspase-3 activation following apoptotic cell death of neurons and oligodendrocytes, thereby improving functional recovery after injury. Thus, our data suggest that ADR extract provides neuroprotection by alleviating inflammation and oxidative stress and can be used as an orally administered therapeutic agent for acute SCI.