Protective effect of donepezil hydrochloride on cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury in mice

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of donepezil hydrochloride (DH) on the expression of the calpain I-cyclin-dependent kinase5/p25 (CDK5/p25) pathway in the hippocampal CA1 region in mice with cerebral ischemia-reperfusion (I/R). Mice were randomly divided and assigned to the sham operation group (SO), the model group (MG) and the DH treatment group (TG). The pathological appearance of the hippocampal CA1 region and the expression of calpain I and CDK5/p25, were observed on the 4th, 6th and 8th week of the I/R surgery. Within the same time periods, superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity and malondialdehyde (MDA) content were also determined. At each postoperative time point, the normal neuron count in the hippocampal CA1 region in the MG was significantly lower than that in the SO (P<0.05), whereas the calpain I and CDK5/p25 expression, SOD activity and MDA content in the MG were significantly higher than those in the SO (P<0.05). The normal neuron count of the hippocampal CA1 region in the TG increased significantly (P<0.05), whereas the calpain I and CDK5/p25 expression, SOD activity and MDA content in the TG were significantly lower than those in the MG (P<0.05). DH has protective effects against ischemic damage. The ability of DH to improve learning and memory in mice may be due to its ability to decrease the expression of the calpain I-CDK5/p25 pathway and reduce oxidative damage.