Sericin Alleviates Thermal Stress Induced Anxiety-Like Behavior and Cognitive Impairment Through Regulation of Oxidative Stress, Apoptosis, and Heat-Shock Protein-70 in the Hippocampus

Exposure to heat stress (HS) has adverse effects on brain function, leading to anxiety-like behavior and memory impairment. Sericin is a silk derived protein with various neurobiological activities. The present study has investigated the effects of sericin on anxiety and cognitive impairments, in HS-received mice. The adult male mice were exposed to HS (43 ºC, 15 min once a day for 14 days) and simultaneously treated with 100, 150, and 200 mg/kg/day of sericin through oral gavage. Elevated plus-maze and Lashley III Maze tests were used to evaluate anxiety and learning and memory, respectively. The hippocampal BAX, BCL-2, caspase3, caspase9 and heat-shock protein-70 (HSP-70) were evaluated by western blotting and oxidative stress markers including malondialdehyde (MDA), total antioxidant capacity (TAC), super oxide dismutase (SOD) as well as glutathione peroxidase (GPx) were evaluated by spectroscopy method. The serum was collected for the analysis of the corticosterone levels. Treatment with sericin in higher doses reversed anxiety-like behavior and cognitive deficit induced by HS. Moreover, heat exposure increased serum corticosterone, hippocampal MDA, apoptotic proteins and HSP-70 levels. Sericin administration decreased serum corticosterone and enhanced hippocampal antioxidant defense and attenuated apoptosis and HSP-70 levels. The results show that the protective effects of sericin against HS-mediated cognitive dysfunction and anxiety-like behavior is possibly through suppressing HSP-70, oxidative stress and apoptosis.