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Cryptotanshinione Inhibits β-Amyloid Aggregation and Protects Damage from β-Amyloid in SH-SY5Y Cells

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Abstract

The deposition of amyloid β-protein (Aβ) fibrils into plaques within the brain parenchyma and along cerebral blood vessels is a hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Aβ42 oligomers and fibrils cause the breakdown of neural circuits, neuronal death and eventually dementia. Drugs that inhibit Aβ42 aggregation may be a novel direction in AD drug discovery. Cryptotanshinone (CTS), an active component of the medicinal herb Salvia miltiorrhiza, has been shown to improve learning and memory in several pharmacological models of AD. However, the effects of CTS on the Aβ aggregation and toxicity are unclear. The current work shows the effectiveness of CTS on the inhibition of Aβ42 aggregation and toxicity to human neuroblastoma cells. In this study, we demonstrated that CTS can inhibit Aβ42 spontaneous aggregation using thioflavin T fluorescence assay and transmission electron microscopy. Furthermore, we investigated the effects of CTS on Aβ-induced oxidative cell death in cultured SH-SY5Y cells. MTT and lactate dehydrogenase assays showed that CTS reduced the cytotoxicity induced by Aβ42. CTS also dramatically reduced Aβ42-induced cellular apoptosis and increased level of reactive oxygen species in these cells. Our study suggests that CTS may be useful in the inhibition or prevention of AD development and progression.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported in part by Major programin key field of the Government of Guangdong Province, China (No. 2003A30904), NSFC-CIHR (No.30811120434) and The Ministry of Science and Technology of China,major special project—”significant Creation of new drugs”,No 2009ZX09102-152 and No.2009ZX09303-007 the National Natural Science Foundation (grant No.30500574).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory of Pharmacology and Toxicology, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, 510080, People’s Republic of China

    Peiqing Liu

  2. Department of Neurosurgery, Cancer Center, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, 510060, People’s Republic of China

    Yonggao Mou

  3. The Third Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical College, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, 510150, People’s Republic of China

    Zhengrong Mei, Pengke Yan & Bing Situ

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  1. Zhengrong Mei
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Correspondence to Peiqing Liu.

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Mei, Z., Yan, P., Situ, B. et al. Cryptotanshinione Inhibits β-Amyloid Aggregation and Protects Damage from β-Amyloid in SH-SY5Y Cells. Neurochem Res 37, 622–628 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11064-011-0652-6

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