Protective effects of baicalin in a Caenorhabditis elegans model of Parkinson's disease

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a common neurodegenerative disorder of the central nervous system. However, the pathogenetic mechanisms of PD are far from understood. The aim of this study was to determine the protective effect of baicalin in a Caenorhabditis elegans model of PD. C. elegans worms were stimulated for 24 h with 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA, 50 mM) and treated with or without baicalin (1, 10, or 100 μM). At all tested concentrations, baicalin improved the reversal and omega turn behavioral phenotypes, as well as the survival, of 6-OHDA-stimulated worms. It also inhibited 6-OHDA-induced oxidative stress by decreasing malondialdehyde levels, increasing superoxide dismutase, glutathione reductase, catalase, and glutathione levels and up-regulating mRNA expression of the antioxidant-related genes sod-1, sod-2, sod-3, daf-2, and daf-16. Additionally, it significantly decreased the expression of the apoptosis-related gene ced-3 and increased that of the anti-apoptosis-related gene ced-9. The expression levels of cleaved caspase-3 and B-cell lymphoma 2 in 6-OHDA-treated worms were reversed by baicalin. Apoptosis was suppressed by 6-OHDA in loss-of-function strains via the p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling pathway. Furthermore, the apoptotic effects of 6-OHDA were blocked in sek-1 and pmk-1 mutants. Finally, the mRNA expression of sek-1 and pmk-1 and the protein expression of p38 MAPK and stress-activated protein kinase/extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1 were up-regulated by 6-OHDA and reversed by baicalin. Baicalin may protect against 6-OHDA injury by inhibiting apoptosis and decreasing oxidative stress through the p38 MAPK signaling pathway.