Qilong Capsule Alleviates Ponatinib-induced Ischemic Stroke in a Zebrafish Model by Regulating Coagulation, Inflammation and Apoptosis

Ethopharmacological Relevance: Qilong capsule (QLC) is a compound traditional Chinese medicine commonly used to treat ischemic stroke (IS). QLC is made of eight kinds of medicinal materials. It has two kinds of monarch medicine and six kinds of minister medicine. However, the pharmacodynamic mechanism of QLC is still unknown.

Aim Of The Study: The aim of this paper was to evaluate the pharmacology mechanism of QLC against ischemic stroke through coagulation, inflammation and apoptosis.

Materials And Methods: We used an existing zebrafish model to explore the protective mechanism of QLC on IS. We treated normally-developing zebrafish larvae with QLC and ponatinib 2 days post fertilization (dpf), and used the area of cerebral vascular thrombosis, red blood cell staining intensity, and brain cell apoptosis to quantitate QLC efficacy against IS. Evaluation of brain inflammation in zebrafish by observing macrophage aggregation and migration. In addition, we also explored the effect of QLC on zebrafish angiogenesis. Quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) was used to detect changes in the expression of genes involved in coagulation, inflammation, vascular endothelium, and apoptosis.

Results: We found that QLC reduced the area affected by ponatinib-induced cerebral vascular embolism, erythrocyte staining intensity, and the number of apoptotic brain cells. For inflammation, QLC can improve the aggregation and migration of macrophages. QLC can significantly promote the formation of blood vessels in zebrafish. qPCR showed that QLC inhibited the expression of genes related to coagulation, inflammation, and apoptosis.

Conclusion: Qilong capsule had a significant protective efficacy in ponatinib-induced IS.