Galuteolin Inhibited Autophagy for Neuroprotection Against Transient Focal Cerebral Ischemia in Rats.

Galuteolin, a Chinese herbal medicine, purified from Lonicera Japonica. In this study, we aimed to investigate the neuroprotective effect of galuteolin against cerebral ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury. We administered galuteolin or galuteolin and rapamycin to rats which had middle cerebral artery occlusion/reperfusion (MCAO/R). A series of characterizations were carried out to monitor the outcomes of galuteolin in I/R rats regarding the infarct volumes, neurological deficits, and brain water, as well as its effect on neuroprotection and autophagy. It was found that galuteolin significantly reduced the infarct volume, brain water content, and the neurological deficits in a dose-dependent manner. Neuron damages were decreased in the hippocampal carotid artery 1 pyramidal layer by galuteolin. The expression levels of neuron-specific enolase (NSE) increased after galuteolin treatment. Galuteolin significantly decreased the expression levels of autophagy-related proteins. In addition, galuteolin decreased rapamycin-related neuron damages and activations of autophagy in I/R rats. Our data suggested that galuteolin can inhibit ischemic brain injuries through the regulation of autophagy-related indicators in I/R.