Ginkgo biloba Extract (EGb 761®) Inhibits Glutamate-induced Up-regulation of Tissue Plasminogen Activator Through Inhibition of c-Fos Translocation in Rat Primary Cortical Neurons.

EGb 761(®) , a standardized extract of Ginkgo biloba leaves, has antioxidant and antiinflammatory properties in experimental models of neurodegenerative disorders such as stroke and Alzheimer's disease. Tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) acts a neuromodulator and plays a crucial role in the manifestation of neurotoxicity leading to exaggerated neuronal cell death in neurological insult conditions. In this study, we investigated the effects of EGb 761 on the basal and glutamate-induced activity and expression of tPA in rat primary cortical neurons. Under basal condition, EGb 761 inhibited both secreted and cellular tPA activities, without altering tPA mRNA level, as modulated by the activation of p38. Compared with basal condition, EGb 761 inhibited the glutamate-induced up-regulation of tPA mRNA resulting in the normalization of overt tPA activity and expression. c-Fos is a component of AP-1, which plays a critical role in the modulation of tPA expression. Interestingly, EGb 761 inhibited c-Fos nuclear translocation without affecting c-Fos expression in glutamate-induced rat primary cortical neurons. These results demonstrated that EGb 761 can modulate tPA activity under basal and glutamate-stimulated conditions by both translational and transcriptional mechanisms. Thus, EGb 761 could be a potential and effective therapeutic strategy in tPA-excessive neurotoxic conditions.