LW-AFC,a new formula derived from Liuwei Dihuang decoction,ameliorates behavioral and pathological deterioration via modulating the neuroendocrine-immune system in Alzheimer disease mouse models / 中国药理学与毒理学杂志

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE Alzheimer disease(AD),the most common cause of dementia among older people, could not be prevented, halted, or reversed up till now. A large body of pharmacological study has revealed that Liuwei Dihuang (LW) possesses potential therapeutic effects on AD. LW-AFC is key fractions from LW.In the present study,we investigated the effect of LW-AFC on AD mouse models. METHODS PrP-hAβPPswe/PS1ΔE9(APP/PS1) mice and senescence-accelerated mouse prone 8 strain (SAMP8), classic AD animal models, were employed. After the treatment of LW-AFC, mice were cognitively evaluated in behavioral experiments. Neuron loss, amyloid-β (Αβ) deposition, and Αβ level were analyzed using Nissl staining, immunofluorescence, and an AlphaLISA assay, respectively. Multiplex bead analysis, a radioimmunoassay, immunochemiluminometry, and an ELISA were used to measure cytokine and hormone levels.Lymphocyte subsets were detected using fl ow cytometry. RESULTS LW-AFC ameliorated the cognitive impairment observed in APP/PS1and SAMP8 mice,including the impairment of object recognition memory,spatial learning and memory,and active and passive avoidance. In addition, LW-AFC alleviated the neuron loss in the hippocampus, suppressed amyloid-β(Αβ)deposition in the brain,and reduced the concentration of Aβ1-42in the hippo-campus and plasma of APP/PS1 mice. LW-AFC treatment also significantly restored the imbalance of hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) and hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal (HPG) axis, enhanced the proliferation of splenocytes,corrected the disorder of lymphocyte subsets,and regulated the abnormal production of cytokine in APP/PS1 and SAMP8 mice. Effects of LW-AFC on pharmacodynamics and neuroendocrine immunomodulation network in APP/PS1 and SAMP8 mice were better than meman-tine and donepezil. CONCLUSION LW-AFC ameliorated the behavioral and pathological deterioration of AD mouse models via the restoration of the NIM network, which supports the use of LW-AFC as a potential agent for AD therapy.