Salidroside directly activates HSC70, revealing a new role for HSC70 in BDNF signalling and neurogenesis after cerebral ischemia

Salidroside is a key bioactive component of Rhodiola species that are widely used as traditional medicines. Among them, Rhodiola crenulata is cited as a traditional Chinese medicine to treat stroke in the Chinese Pharmacopoeia. This therapeutic action of Rhodiola crenulata may involve neurogenesis, as it is known that Rhodiola crenulate enhances hippocampal neurogenesis against streptozotocin-induced neural injury in rats, probably through protecting neural stem cells by salidroside. Salidroside has attracted considerable attentions as a potential agent for the clinic, as it exhibits neuroprotective properties across a remarkably wide time window in a variety of experimental stroke models. However, whether salidroside induces neurogenesis after cerebral ischemia and its primary molecular targets remain unknown.To explore whether salidroside induces neurogenesis after cerebral ischemia, and whether the neurogenic and neuroprotective effects of salidroside are through interaction with heat shock cognate 71-kDa protein (HSC70) as its primary molecular target.