Effects of Buyang Huanwu Decoction combined with edaravone on the regulation of neuronal mitochondrial apoptosis pathway in mice with brain ischemia and reperfusion injury

Objective To investigate the effects and mechanism of Buyang Huanwu Decoction combined with edaravone on protecting the brain of mice with cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury. Methods The middle cerebral artery occlusion/reperfusion model was established by the improved intraluminal filament technique in mice.The 90 mice were randomly divided into five groups(each group 18):sham operation group;model group;BYHWD group(10 ml/kg,ig);ED group(3 mg/kg,iv);BYHWD+ED group (BYHWD 10 ml/kg,ig+ED 3 mg/kg,iv).Seven days after the administration of drugs,the differences of neurologic impairment score on 1,3 and 7 d were observed.On 7 d,the cerebral infarction volume was determined using TTC staining.Apoptotic cells were quantified with TUNEL method.The positive cells of bcl-2,bax and caspase-3 were detected by immunohistochemistry method.The data between groups was compared with one-way analysis of variance;the comparison between 2 groups was with t test.P value<0.05 was accepted as statistically significant. Results On 1,3 and 7 d,the neurological deficit score had decreased over time.On the same time,the model group had the highest score,the combination group had the lowest score(P<0.01).On 7 d,the infarction volume percentage of combination group reduced than the single group(P<0.01);drug groups could reduce apoptosis cells(P<0.05);increase the number of bcl-2 expressed cells,reduce the number of bax and caspase-3 expressed positive cells,the change trend of combination group was more obvious than others(P<0.05). Conclusion The combination of Buyang Huanwu decoction and edaravone has a better protective effect on cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury through the modulation of related factor of mitochondrial apoptosis pathway.