title: Berberine attenuates calyculin A-induced cytotoxicity and Tau hyperphosphorylation in HEK293 cells.
abstract: The Chinese herb berberine has versatile health effects. Recent reports indicate that berberine has the potential to prevent and treat Alzheimer's disease (AD). In the present study, we employed tau-expressing HEK293 cells (HEK293/tau) treated with calyculin-A as a cellular model to investigate the roles of berberine in cell viability, tau phosphorylation, and oxidative stress. We found a significant reduction of calyculin A-induced tau hyperphosphorylation at Ser198/199/202, Ser396, Ser404, Thr205, and Thr231 24 h after treatment with 20 μg/ml berberine. Berberine also restored protein phosphates 2A activity and reversed glycogen synthase kinase-3β (GSK-3β) activation, as determined by phosphatase activity assay and GSK-3β phosphorylation at Tyr216 and Ser9, respectively. Furthermore, berberine reversed both the increase of malondialdehyde and the decrease of superoxide dismutase activity induced by calyculin A, indicating its role in anti-oxidative stress. Our findings suggest that berberine may be a potential therapeutic drug for AD.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathophysiology, Key Laboratory of Neurological Disease of National Education Ministry, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China.
authors.forename: Guang
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.forename: Yi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Qing
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Tian
authors.forename: Rong
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Qun
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Jian-Zhi
authors.initials: JZ
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Xiaochuan
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Wang
mesh_terms: D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001599:Berberine / Q000494:pharmacology*; D002470:Cell Survival / Q000187:drug effects; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D004347:Drug Interactions; D004791:Enzyme Inhibitors / Q000633:toxicity*; D005434:Flow Cytometry; D057809:HEK293 Cells / Q000187:drug effects*; D006801:Humans; D020287:In Situ Nick-End Labeling; D008315:Malondialdehyde / Q000378:metabolism; D008387:Marine Toxins; D010080:Oxazoles / Q000633:toxicity*; D010766:Phosphorylation / Q000187:drug effects; D054648:Protein Phosphatase 2 / Q000378:metabolism; D012844:Sincalide / Q000378:metabolism; D013482:Superoxide Dismutase / Q000378:metabolism; D016875:tau Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D004791:Enzyme Inhibitors; D008387:Marine Toxins; D010080:Oxazoles; D016875:tau Proteins; D001599:Berberine; D008315:Malondialdehyde; C059041:calyculin A; D013482:Superoxide Dismutase; C517189:PPP2CA protein, human; D054648:Protein Phosphatase 2; D012844:Sincalide