Biomedicines (Jun 2024)

Luteolin-7-O-β-d-Glucuronide Attenuated Cerebral Ischemia/Reperfusion Injury: Involvement of the Blood–Brain Barrier

  • Xing Fan,
  • Jintao Song,
  • Shuting Zhang,
  • Lihui Lu,
  • Fang Lin,
  • Yu Chen,
  • Shichang Li,
  • Xinxin Jin,
  • Fang Wang

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3390/biomedicines12061366
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 12, no. 6
p. 1366

Abstract

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Ischemic stroke is a common cerebrovascular disease with high mortality, high morbidity, and high disability. Cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury seriously affects the quality of life of patients. Luteolin-7-O-β-d-glucuronide (LGU) is a major active flavonoid compound extracted from Ixeris sonchifolia (Bge.) Hance, a Chinese medicinal herb mainly used for the treatment of coronary heart disease, angina pectoris, cerebral infarction, etc. In the present study, the protective effect of LGU on cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury was investigated in an oxygen–glucose deprivation/reoxygenation (OGD/R) neuronal model and a transient middle cerebral artery occlusion (tMCAO) rat model. In in vitro experiments, LGU was found to improve the OGD/R-induced decrease in neuronal viability effectively by the MTT assay. In in vivo experiments, neurological deficit scores, infarction volume rates, and brain water content rates were improved after a single intravenous administration of LGU. These findings suggest that LGU has significant protective effects on cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury in vitro and in vivo. To further explore the potential mechanism of LGU on cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury, we performed a series of tests. The results showed that a single administration of LGU decreased the content of EB and S100B and ameliorated the abnormal expression of tight junction proteins ZO-1 and occludin and metalloproteinase MMP-9 in the ischemic cerebral cortex of the tMCAO 24-h injury model. In addition, LGU also improved the tight junction structure between endothelial cells and the degree of basement membrane degradation and reduced the content of TNF-α and IL-1β in the brain tissue. Thereby, LGU attenuated cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury by improving the permeability of the blood–brain barrier. The present study provides new insights into the therapeutic potential of LGU in cerebral ischemia.

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