http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12565-015-0297-7
Abstract
Aging
is associated with reduced hippocampal neurogenesis, which may in turn
contribute to cognitive impairment. We assessed the effect of Ginkgo biloba
(Gb) on hippocampal neurogenesis in elderly male mice using
immunohistochemistry. We used anti-caspase-3 as a marker of apoptosis,
anti-GFAP as a marker of neural stem cells, anti-Ki-67 as a specific
marker for cellular proliferation and anti-doublecortin (DCX) to detect
newly born neurons in the hippocampal dentate gyrus (DG) of aged male
mice. The 24-month-old male mice were divided into two groups: a control
group treated with distilled water and a group fed with Gb at a dose of
100 mg/kg once daily for 28 days. A sharp decrease in apoptotic cells
in Gb-treated compared to nontreated mice was observed by anti-csapase-3
immunostaining. A large number of GFAP+ve cells was found in the
subgranular zone of the DG of Gb-treated mice, suggesting an increase in
the pool of neural stem cells by Gb treatment. There was also an
increase in Ki-67 immunoreactive cells, indicating increased cell
proliferation in the DG in the Gb-treated compared to nontreated group. A
significant increase in newborn DCX+ve neurons with well-developed
tertiary dendrites was also found in the Gb-treated compared to
nontreated group. Using Western blot analysis, the expression of DCX
protein in the Gb group was also significantly increased compared to the
control. The results support a beneficial role of Gb on hippocampal
neurogenesis in the context of brain aging.
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