Background: Danggui Buxue Tang (DBT), a phytoestrogen-enriched Chinese herbal formula, serves as dietary supplement\nin stimulating the ââ?¬Å?Bloodââ?¬Â functions of menopausal women. In traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) theory,\nââ?¬Å?Bloodââ?¬Â has a strong relationship with brain activities. Previous studies supported that some ingredients of DBT possessed\nneuronal beneficial functions. Therefore, the neurotrophic function and the mechanistic action of DBT were\nsystematically evaluated in cultured human neuroblastoma SH-SY5Y cells.\nMethods: The DBT-triggered protein expressions were analyzed by western blotting, while the transcriptional activities\nof promoters coding for related genes were revealed by luciferase assays. For mechanistic analysis of DBT, Erk1/2\nand its inhibitor U0126 were analyzed.\nResults: The application of DBT in cultured neuroblastoma cells showed the efficacies in: (1) up-regulation of nerve\ngrowth factor (NGF), brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF);\n(2) activation of transcriptional activities of promoters coding for NGF, BDNF, GDNF; (3) activation of Erk1/2 and CREB;\nand (4) attenuation of the neurotrophic factor expression by the treatment of an Erk1/2 inhibitor.\nConclusions: Our study supports that MAPK/Erk pathway acts as fundamental role in monitoring DBT-induced\nexpression of neurotrophic factors in cultured human neuroblastoma cell. These results shed light in developing the\nworking mechanism of this ancient herbal decoction for its neuronal function.
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