ABSTRACT
Objective To investigate the protective effects of curcumin on the cellular model of Alzheimer's disease(AD) and the expression of growth associated protein-43(GAP-43). Methods Aβ25~35 was used to treat the hippocampus neurons of rat and the cellular model of AD was established. The survival rate was detected by MTT assay. The cells were randomly divided into blank control,model,curcumin 10 and 20μmol/L groups. The effect of curcumin on apoptosis was assayed by flow cytometry. The pro?trusive length and GAP-43 positive cell rate were detected by immunocytochemistry. The expression of GAP-43 was detected by West?ern blot. Results Compared with the model group,curcumin significantly reduced the toxicity of Aβ25~35,increased the survival rate and decreased the apoptosis rate of the cells(P<0.05). It also significantly increased the average protrusive length,GAP-43 positive cell rate and GAP-43 expression(P<0.05 or P<0.01). Conclusion The protective effect of curcumin on the cellular model of AD was likely related to the up-regulation of GAP-43 expression.