Protective Effect of Xifeng Jiejing Tang on Early Brain Injury in Rats with Subarachnoid Hemorrhage Based on Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress Signaling Pathway

XIANG Xinggang; ZHOU Yifan; NIU Shuliang; Yimamu·Yidayitula; ZHAO Yong; Maimaijiang·Abulizi; LIN Lin

doi:10.12102/j.issn.1672-1349.2025.08.006

Abstract：Objective:To investigate the protective effect of Xifeng Jiejing Tang(XFJJT)on early brain injury(EBI)after subarachnoid hemorrhage(SAH)in rats.Methods:Forty-eight SPF-grade SD rats were randomly divided into sham-operated group,SAH group,XFJJT low-dose group,and XFJJT high-dose group,with 12 rats in each group.SAH rat model was constructed by injecting autologous blood into the anterior pool of the optic chiasm.The rats in the XFJJT low-dose and XFJJT high-dose groups received the drug by gavage once every 12 h,with doses of 5 mL/kg and 10 mL/kg,respectively.The drug was administered for 3 consecutive days.The rats in the sham-operated group and the SAH group were given the same volume of 0.9％NaCl solution by gavage as a control.The rats were evaluated for neurological deficit symptoms using Longa's 5-grade standardized scoring method,the water content of brain tissue was determined by the dry/wet weight method,the apoptosis rate of neuronal cells was detected by TUNEL assay,the pathological changes of brain tissue were observed by hematoxylin-eosin staining,and the permeability of the blood-brain barrier was detected by the amount of Evans blue extravasation.Additionally,the levels of interleukin-1 β(IL-1 β),interleukin-6(IL-6),and tumor necrosis factor-α(TNF-α)in the peripheral blood of the rats were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay(ELISA).And the expression levels of endoplasmic reticulum stress-associated glucose-regulated protein 78(GRP78),transcription factor C/EBP homologous protein(CHOP),and cysteine-containing aspartic acid protease(Caspase)-12 were detected by Western blot.Results:Compared with the sham-operation group,rats in the SAH group showed elevated neurological deficit scores,brain tissue water content,apoptosis rate of brain neurons,and expression levels of IL-1 β,IL-6,and TNF-α,as well as increased expression of GRP78,CHOP,and Caspase-12 in brain tissue,with significant and statistically significant differences(P＜0.05).Compared with the SAH group,At 3 days after administration the neural function deficit score,brain tissue water content,brain neuron apoptosis rate,and expression levels of IL-1 β,IL-6,and TNF-α decreased in both the low-dose XFJJT group and high-dose XFJJT group.Additionally,the expression levels of GRP78,CHOP,and Caspase-12 also decreased.The differences were statistically significant(P＜0.05).Conclusion:XFJJT may alleviate the endoplasmic reticulum stress response after SAH by regulating the expression of GRP78,CHOP,and Caspase-12,and play some role in protecting the brain of SAH rats,alleviating EBI after SAH.