Effects of Naomaitong Recipe on expressions of nuclear factor-κB and nitric-oxide synthases in brain tissue after focal cerebral ischemia reperfusion in aged rats

Objective To study the effects of Naomaitong Recipe, a compound Chinese herbal medicine, on the expressions of nuclear factor-kappaB (NF-kappaB) and nitric-oxide synthases (NOSs) in brain tissue after focal cerebral ischemia reperfusion in aged rats and the dosage-effect relationship. Methods We adopted the middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) in aged rats as the focal cerebral ischemia model, with 3-hour ischemia and 12-day reperfusion, and observed the changes of the nerve dysfunction score, the water content of cerebral constitution and the expressions of NF-kappaB, heat-shock protein 70 (HSP70) and NOSs in cerebral cortex. Results The nerve dysfunction score, the water content of cerebral constitution, the expressions of NF-kappaB, HSP70, neuronal nitric-oxide synthase (nNOS), endothelial nitric-oxide synthase (eNOS) and inducible nitric-oxide synthase (iNOS) in the untreated group were higher than those of the sham-operated group. The nerve dysfunction score, the water content of cerebral constitution, the expressions of NF-kappaB, iNOS and nNOS were lower, while the expressions of HSP70 and eNOS were higher in the high-, medium- and low-dose Naomaitong-treated groups and nimodipine-treated group than those of the untreated-group. The nerve dysfunction score and the expression of nNOS were lower, while the expression of eNOS was higher in the medium-dose Naomaitong-treated group than those of the nimodipine-treated group. The expressions of HSP70 and eNOS were higher, while the other indices were lower in the medium-dose Naomaitong-treated group than those of the low-dose Naomaitong-treated group. Conclusion Naomaitong Recipe can protect the brain cells from damage after focal cerebral ischemia reperfusion injury by adjusting the expressions of NF-kappaB, HSP70 and NOSs, and the medium-dose Naomaitong Recipe is more effective.