SK-PC-B70M alleviates neurologic symptoms in G93A-SOD1 amyotrophic lateral sclerosis mice.

SK-PC-B70M, an oleanolic-glycoside saponins fraction extracted from the root of Pulsatilla koreana, carries active ingredient(s) that protects the cytotoxicity induced by Aβ(1-42) in SK-N-SH cells. It was recently demonstrated that SK-PC-B70M improved scopolamine-induced deficits of memory consolidation and spatial working memory in rats, and reduced Aβ levels and plaque deposition in the brains of the Tg2576 mouse model of Alzheimer disease. In the present study, we investigated whether SK-PC-B70M produces helpful effects on the pathology of the G93A-SOD1 transgenic mouse model of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Administration of SK-PC-B70M (100 or 400 mg/kg/day) from 8 weeks to 16 weeks of age attenuated neurological deficits of G93A-SOD1 mice in several motor-function-related behavioral tests. SK-PC-B70M treatment significantly suppressed the accumulation of the by-products of lipid peroxidation, malonedialdehyde (MDA) and 4-hydroxy-2-nonenal (HNE), in the spinal cord of G93A-SOD1 mice. Moreover, histologic analysis stained with cresyl violet or anti-choline acetyltransferase (ChAT) revealed that SK-PC-B70M suppressed neuronal loss in the ventral horn of the spinal cords of G93A-SOD1 mice. These results suggest that SK-PC-B70M affords a beneficial effect on neurologic deficits of G93A-SOD1 ALS mice.