Autophagy-enhancing and neuroprotective effects of Wonji-Gobon mixture (WGM) in a Parkinson’s disease mouse model

The aim of this study was to evaluate autophagyenhancing and neuroprotective effects of Wonji-Gobon mixture (WGM), a traditional Chinese prescription medication, in Parkinson’s disease (PD) mouse models. Our investigation found that WGM increased the expression of both Beclin1 and LC3b-II proteins as measured with western blot in the BV2 cell line; both proteins play a role in autophagy. WGM also increased the autophagy expression as measured by fluorescence-activated cell-sorting analysis in the BV2 cell line. In 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine-induced PD models, WGM significantly increased the amount of dopamine in a striatum-substantia nigra suspension, produced notable results in the forced swim test, and increased serotonin as measured by high-performance liquid chromatography analysis; these results are indicative of neuroprotective effects. In summary, our findings indicate that WGM treatment has neuroprotective effects that are partially mediated by autophagy enhancement.