ABSTRACT
Alzheimer's disease （AD） is a neurological disease highly related to age， which is the main cause of senile dementia and the most common disease leading to the loss of daily living ability of the elderly. AD brings heavy mental burden and economic pressure to patients， families， and society. Traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） ascribes AD to category of "dementia"， believing that the treatment should start from kidney because kidney deficiency is the root cause. Combined with the physiological and pathological characteristics of liver， this paper proposed that liver-kidney homology was an important idea for the prevention and treatment of AD. The main pathological manifestations of AD were amyloid β-protein （Aβ） deposition and neurofibrillary tangles （NFT）， and the pathogenesis was complex. A growing number of studies showed that immune inflammation played an important role in the pathogenesis of AD. The important target of treating AD was the regulation of neuro-immune inflammation through the nuclear factor kappa B （NF-κB）/NOD-like receptor thermal protein domain associated protein 3 （NLRP3）/Caspase-1/interleukin-1β （IL-1β） signaling pathway. Based on the idea of liver-kidney homology， this paper selected the representative formula Hei Xiaoyaosan to explore its effect on the prevention and treatment of AD and the mechanism from the perspective of regulating NF-κB/NLRP3/Caspase-1/IL-1β signaling pathway and inhibiting neuro-immune inflammation， expecting to further promote the in-depth study on the prevention and treatment of AD， and provide references for the prevention and treatment of AD by TCM.
ABSTRACT
ObjectiveTo explore whether Hei Xiaoyaosan can inhibit the inflammatory response in the hippocampi of Alzheimer's disease （AD） rats by regulating and activating the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway to improve the cognitive and memory dysfunction. MethodAmong the 90 male Wistar rats， 12 were randomly selected as the blank group （normal saline） and 12 as the sham operation group （normal saline）. For the remainder， amyloid β-protein42 （Aβ42） was injected in the left and right hippocampus to induce AD， and then the AD rats were randomized into model group， low-， medium-， and high-dose Hei Xiaoyaosan groups （corresponding doses of Hei Xiaoyaosan， ig）， and donepezil group （donepezil hydrochloride，ig）， with 12 in each group. The administration lasted 42 days. The pathological changes of hippocampal CA1 region was observed based on Nissl staining. The escape latency on the 1st to 5th day in Morris water maze was recorded and the spatial memory on the 6th day was tested. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay （ELISA） was employed to detect the expression of interleukin （IL）-6， IL-10， and tumor necrosis factor-α （TNF-α） in rat hippocampus and serum， Western blotting to examine the protein expression of glycogen synthase kinase-3β （GSK-3β）， β-catenin， and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma （PPARγ）， and real-time polymerase chain reaction （Real-time PCR） to determine the mRNA expression of rat GSK-3β， β-catenin， and PPARγ. ResultCompared with the blank group， the number of neurons in the hippocampal CA1 area of model group was significantly reduced， the arrangement was uneven， the cell body was damaged more obviously， and the Neisser body was unclear. The treatment group was significantly prolonged （P<0.01）， and the number of crossing stations was significantly reduced （P<0.01）， the levels of IL-10 in serum and hippocampus of rats in the model group were significantly decreased， while the levels of IL-6 and TNF-α were significantly increased （P<0.01）， the GSK-3β protein and mRNA in the model group were significantly increased， and the protein expressions of β-catenin and PPARγ were significantly decreased （P<0.01）， and the difference was more obvious. The number of neurons in the donepezil group was more distributed， neatly arranged， the structure was intact， and the Nissl bodies were clear and definite， the escape latency on the 3rd to 5th days in middle and high dose groups of Hei Xiaoyaosan and the donepezil group was significantly shortened （P<0.01）， the number of crossing platforms increased significantly （P<0.01）， the expression levels of IL-10 in the rat hippocampus and serum were significantly increased， while IL-6 and TNF-α were significantly decreased （P<0.01）， GSK-3β in the rat hippocampus was significantly increased. The expressions of GSK-3β protein and mRNA were significantly decreased， while the expression levels of β-catenin and PPARγ protein and mRNA were significantly increased （P<0.01）. There was no significant difference in each index between the donepezil hydrochloride group and the high-dose Hei Xiaoyaosan group. ConclusionHei Xiaoyaosan can inhibit the inflammatory response in the hippocampus of AD rats by regulating the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway， thereby alleviating the cognitive and memory impairment of AD rats.
ABSTRACT
Alzheimer's disease （AD） is a neurodegenerative disease. With the acceleration of aging process， the number of AD patients increases year by year. This threatens the health and even life of patients， and causes heavy economic burden and mental pressure to patients， families and society. In traditional Chinese medicine （TCM）， AD belongs to the category of dementia， and tonifying kidney is the main treatment. Based on the basic theory of TCM and combined with clinical manifestations of AD， AD is closely correlated with liver and spleen. Therefore， "simultaneous regulation of three Yin" of liver， spleen and kidney will be an important way for the prevention and treatment of AD. Hei Xiaoyaosan， a representative prescription of "simultaneous regulation of three Yin" of liver， spleen and kidney， has theoretical， experimental and clinical basis in preventing and treating AD. Modern studies have shown that neurofibrillary tangle formed by tau hyperphosphorylation is a main pathological feature of AD， and trimethylamine oxide （TMAO） is closely related to tau hyperphosphorylation. Therefore， regulating TMAO metabolism to inhibit tau hyperphosphorylation is a new target for the prevention and treatment of AD. On the basis of the above theory and previous studies， this paper put forward the hypothesis that Hei Xiaoyaosan regulates the trimethylamine（TMA）/heparin monooxygenase 3（FMO3）/TMAO metabolic pathway of intestinal flora through "simultaneous regulation of three Yin" of liver， spleen and kidney， and then inhibits tau hyperphosphorylation in brain hippocampus， thereby protecting nerve cells， improving learning and memory， and preventing AD. This paper explored the role and mechanism of Hei Xiaoyaosan in the prevention and treatment of AD from the perspective of inhibiting tau hyperphosphorylation by regulating the TMA/FMO3/TMAO metabolic pathway of intestinal flora， which provided new ideas and strategies for in-depth study of Hei Xiaoyaosan in the prevention and treatment of AD.
ABSTRACT
Objective::To study the effect of Hei Xiaoyaosan on the expression of calcium calmodulin-dependent protein kinase Ⅱ alpha(CaMKⅡα) and its phosphorylation in hippocampus and cortex of mice with Alzheimer's disease. Method::After weighing, 30 APP/PSI transgenic male mice were divided into model group, donepezil hydrochloride group and Hei Xiaoyaosan group according to random principle and 10 in each group.At the same age, wild-type C57BL/6 10 mice of the same species were treated as blank group. Donepezil hydrochloride group (6 g·kg-1) and Hei Xiaoyaosan group (3.25 mg·kg-1) were administered for 90 days, then the behavior of all the mice were detected by Morris water maze, the expression of CaMKⅡα, p-CaMKⅡα proteins in hippocampus and cortex by immunohistochemical technique and Western blot. Result::After intervention 3 months, compared with blank group, the average escaping latency periods prolonged significantly and the number of cross-platform and effective areas were decreased distinctly in model group mice(P<0.01), CaMKⅡα protein relative expression decreased significantly(P<0.01), p-CaMKⅡα protein relative expression increased significantly(P<0.01). Compared with the model group, the escape latency of donepezil hydrochloride and Hei Xiaoyaosan group were significantly shortened, and the number of crossing platforms and effective areas was significantly increased (P<0.05, P<0.01), the expression of CaMKⅡα protein in the hippocampus and cortex of drug groups was significantly increased (P<0.01), p-CaMKⅡα protein in the hippocampus and cortex of drug groups was significantly decreased (P<0.05, P<0.01). Conclusion::Hei Xiaoyaosan can improve the learning and memory ability of AD mice by regulating the expression of CaMKⅡα and its phosphorylation, which are key proteins involved in the mechanism of cell memory formation in different brain regions of AD mice.
ABSTRACT
Alzheimer's disease（AD） is an incipient aging neurodegenerative disease， which increases rapidly along with the development trend of social aging and seriously threatens the health of the people. In the absence of effective preventive measures， it will have an enormous impact on the socio-economic and healthcare system. The study found that abnormal cell signal transduction is a key link in many diseases. Cell signal transduction theory has been widely used to clarify the essence of traditional Chinese medicine visceral image and the mechanism of traditional Chinese medicine. 'Correlation of Liver and Kidney' is one of the core plates of the theory of 'Correlation of Five Organs'， which is suitable for explaining the pathogenesis of complex diseases and the correlation of multiple syndromes， and guiding the prescription of clinical syndrome. Hei Xiaoyaosan， as the first choice compound for the prevention and treatment of AD based on the theory of "Correlation of Liver and Kidney' in our team， can play the effects of prevention and treatment by soothing liver and nourishing blood， strengthening spleen and tonifying kidney， and promoting brain collaterals and dredging viscerab spirit. Based on the theory of 'Correlation of Liver and Kidney'， this paper expounds the pathogenesis of AD from the perspective of traditional Chinese medicine， and puts forward the methods and ideas of the preventing and treating of AD from Ca2+-calcium/calmodulin dependent protein （CaM）/calcium/calmodulin dependent protein kinaseⅡ（CaMKⅡ）-cyclic adenosine phosphate reactive element binding protein （CREB） cell signal transduction pathway by consulting literatures and previous studies.
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Objective: To observe the effect of Hei Xiaoyaosan on expressions of β-amyloid 1-42 peptide(Aβ1-42),glycogen synthase kinase-3β(GSK-3β),neprilysin(NEP),insulin-degrading enzyme(IDE) in the hippocampus area of Alzheimer's dementia mice. Method: After weighing, 42 APP/PSI bivalent transgenic mice were randomly divided into 4 groups:10 mice in the model group, 10 mice in the positive drug control group, 11 mice in the high-dose Hei Xiaoyaosan group, and 11 mice in the low-dose Hei Xiaoyaosan group; 10 wild C57BL/6J mice of the same age and strain were used for negative control group. Drugs were administered to mice by gavage once a day for 12 weeks. Then the behavior of all the mice were detected by Morris water maze, the morphological changes in hippocampal neurons were observed by hematoxylineosin(HE) staining, the expressions of Aβ1-42, GSK-3β, NEP and IDE proteins in hippocampus were detected by immunohistochemistry. Result: After 3 months of treatment, compared with negative control groups, the average escaping latency periods prolonged significantly, and the number of cross-platform was decreased significantly in model group (Pβ1-42 and GSK-3β proteins in model mice hippocampus were significantly increased (PPPβ1-42 and GSK-3β proteins in the hippocampus of drug groups were significantly decreased (PPPConclusion: Hei Xiaoyaosan can significantly improve the learning and memory abilities of AD mice, which may be related to the reduction of cognitive impairment in AD mice by regulating abnormal deposition and degradating Aβ in the hippocampus.
ABSTRACT
Objective: To study the effect of Hei Xiaoyaosan on endoplasmic reticulum stress in hippocampal neurons of Alzheimer's disease (AD) model mice, including behavioral, histopathology and amyloid precursor protein (APP), protein kinase endoplasmic reticulum kinase (PERK) expressions. Method: The 42 4-month-old SPF-grade double transgenic (APP/PS1) mice were randomly divided into the high-dose group and the low-dose group, the donepezil hydrochloride group and the model group, and 10 C57BL mice of the same age were used as the blank group. Firstly, they were adapted to the environment for one week. After 2 months of treatment with different drug interventions, Morris water maze behavior was used to test the learning and memory abilities of each group of mice. After 1 month of treatment, histopathological changes in the hippocampus of each group of mice were observed by light microscopy. The expressions of APP, PERK protein and mRNA in the endoplasmic reticulum of hippocampus were detected by immunohistochemistry (IHC) and real-time fluorescent quantitative polymerase chain reaction (Real-time PCR). Result: After drug intervention, compared with the blank group, the escape latency of the AD model group was significantly prolonged (PPPPPConclusion: Hei Xiaoyaosan can significantly improve the learning and memory abilities of AD mice, which may be related to the reduction of the excessive stress response of endoplasmic reticulum to alleviate cognitive impairment in AD mice.