Hydroxysafflor yellow A increases BDNF and NMDARs in the hippocampus in a vascular dementia rat model.

Hydroxysafflor yellow A (HSYA) is a drug that exerts angiogenesis regulatory and neuroprotective effects and has become an effective therapy for brain and heart ischemic disorders. There is no definite evidence supporting a therapeutic effect of HSYA in vascular dementia (VaD). We used HSYA in a rat model of chronic cerebral ischemia to determine its potential therapeutic effects in VaD. The Morris water maze (MWM) was used to evaluate spatial cognitive function, and long-term potentiation (LTP) was tested as a marker of synaptic plasticity. The expression levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and two subunits of N-methyl-d-aspartate receptor (NMDAR; GluN2A and GluN2B) in the hippocampus were measured via western blotting. The MWM results showed that the experimental VaD group had longer escape latencies than the sham group, whereas the HSYA group had a decreased escape latency compared with the VaD group (P<0.05). The LTP at CA3-CA1 synapses in the hippocampus was also enhanced in the HSYA compared with the VaD group (P<0.05). The western blotting results revealed lower hippocampal BDNF and GluN2B expression in the VaD group compared with the sham group and significantly higher hippocampal expression in the HSYA group compared with the VaD group. No significant change in GluN2A expression was detected. The results indicate that HSYA may enhance the endogenous expression of BDNF and GluN2B, which are associated with the synaptic plasticity of the hippocampus, and may improve spatial learning and memory abilities in a rat model of VaD.