[Protective effect of Uncaria rhynchophylla total alkaloids pretreatment on hippocampal neurons after acute hypoxia].

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the effect of Uncaria rhynchophylla total alkaloids (RTA) pretreatment on the voltage-gated sodium currents of the rat hippocampal neurons after acute hypoxia.

METHODS

Primary cultured hippocampal neurons were divided into RTA pre-treated and non-pretreated groups. Patch clamp whole-cell recording was used to compare the voltage-gated sodium current amplitude and threshold with those before hypoxia.

RESULTS

After acute hypoxia, sodium current amplitude was significantly decreased and its threshold was upside. RTA pretreatment could inhibit the reduction of sodium current amplitude.

CONCLUSIONS

RTA pretreatment alleviates the acute hypoxia-induced change of sodium currents, which may be one of the mechanisms for protective effect of RTA on cells.