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Triptolide Protects Against Ischemic Stroke in Rats

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Abstract

Inflammatory response plays an important role in the pathogenesis of ischemic stroke and anti-inflammatory agents may provide a choice of treatment. Triptolide is reported to be anti-inflammatory. In this study, we investigated the effects of triptolide on cultured neuronal cell line in vitro and experimental ischemic stroke in vivo. Oxygen–glucose deprivation (OGD) and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) stimulated SH-SY5Y cells were incubated with triptolide. In vivo, rats were subjected to middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) for 1 h, followed by reperfusion for 23 h. Results of this study showed that triptolide treatment reduced the OGD-induced cytotoxicity and apoptosis and blocked TNF-α-induced activation of NF-κB and p38MAPK in SH-SY5Y cells. Intraperitoneal injection of triptolide showed significant neuroprotective actions in stroke rats. Triptolide attenuated neurological deficit, brain infarct volume, and brain water content, and inhibited activation of NF-κB and p38MAPK. These data show that triptolide protects rats against ischemic cerebral injury via inhibiting NF-κB and p38MAPK signaling pathways.

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interests.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Neurology, Shandong Provincial Hospital Affiliated to Shandong University, #4 Duanxing West Road, Jinan, 250022, Shandong, China

    Maolin Hao, Jianli Feng & Ning Pan

  2. Department of Neurology, The Sixth People’s Hospital of Jinan, Zhangqiu, 250200, Shandong, China

    Xianghua Li

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  1. Maolin Hao
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Correspondence to Maolin Hao.

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Hao, M., Li, X., Feng, J. et al. Triptolide Protects Against Ischemic Stroke in Rats. Inflammation 38, 1617–1623 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10753-015-0137-x

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