Borneol alleviates brain injury in sepsis mice by blocking neuronal effect of endotoxin

Brain injury after sepsis leads to high mortality and long-term brain dysfunction in patients. Previous studies revealed that borneol has a protective effect on the brain, but its function on sepsis associated encephalopathy (SAE) remains unknown. Herein, we investigated the protective effect of borneol against sepsis-related brain injury. Lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced sepsis mice and cells were treated with borneol at the dose of 100 mg/kg by gavage or 10 μg/ml in culture, respectively. The protective effect of borneol on neurons and the microglia were assessed in vivo and in vitro. We observed that borneol attenuated brain neuronal and microglial inflammation in LPS-induced sepsis mice with a suppression of p-p65 and p38 signaling that were initially activated by LPS in the brain. In vitro examination confirmed that the protective effect of borneol on both neurons and microglia, and its suppressive effect on p-p65 and p38 pathways were, at least in part, direct. An early protection of neurons and microglia from bacterial endotoxin during sepsis is beneficial, and borneol has the potential to protect these cells.