Journal Article Ppublish
PubMed: 40735856 DOI: 10.1111/jcmm.70744
Berberine Ameliorates Postoperative Cognitive Dysfunction in Aged Mice and Regulates the PI3K-AKT Pathway: A Network Pharmacology Study.
J Cell Mol Med 29(15):e70744
Authors: Xuan Li, Shiyu Meng, Jiayi Liu, Meixian Sun, Mao Zhou, Fengtao Ji, Yu Hong
Affiliations
- Department of Anesthesiology, Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hospital, Guangzhou, China.
- The Eighth People's Hospital of Qingdao, Shandong Province, China.
Abstract
In this study, we investigated the therapeutic potential of Berberine (BBR), an anti-inflammatory agent capable of penetrating the blood-brain barrier, for mitigating postoperative cognitive dysfunction (POCD) in aged mice. BBR was administered at a dose of 10 mg/kg daily for 2 weeks and significantly improved cognitive impairments induced by surgical and anaesthesia-related factors. Specifically, BBR markedly suppressed glial cell activation and reduced levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines such as tumour necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) and interleukin-1 beta (IL-1β). Additionally, it alleviated oxidative stress markers and lipid accumulation. Using network pharmacology analysis, we demonstrated that BBR modulates neuroinflammation, oxidative processes and lipid metabolism by inhibiting the phosphorylation of the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K)/protein kinase B (Akt) pathway. Furthermore, extended research revealed that BBR upregulated the expression of PPAR-γ mRNA, suggesting a neuroprotective mechanism via regulation of the PI3K-Akt pathway. These findings support the potential application of BBR as a therapeutic agent for managing POCD in elderly populations.
MeSH
Cognitive Dysfunction, Aged, Cell Biology, Pharmacology, Therapeutics, Berberine, Postoperative Cognitive Complications