title: Curcumin ameliorates insulin signalling pathway in brain of Alzheimer's disease transgenic mice.
abstract: Deficits in glucose, impaired insulin signalling and brain insulin resistance are common in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease (AD); therefore, some scholars even called AD type 3 diabetes mellitus. Curcumin can reduce the amyloid pathology in AD. Moreover, it is a well-known fact that curcumin has anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. However, whether or not curcumin could regulate the insulin signal transduction pathway in AD remains unclear. In this study, we used APPswe/PS1dE9 double transgenic mice as the AD model to investigate the mechanisms and the effects of curcumin on AD. Immunohistochemical (IHC) staining and a western blot analysis were used to test the major proteins in the insulin signal transduction pathway. After the administration of curcumin for 6 months, the results showed that the expression of an insulin receptor (InR) and insulin receptor substrate (IRS)-1 decreased in the hippocampal CA1 area of the APPswe/PS1dE9 double transgenic mice, while the expression of phosphatidylinositol-3 kinase (PI3K), phosphorylated PI3K (p-PI3K), serine-threonine kinase (AKT) and phosphorylated AKT (p-AKT) increased. Among the curcumin groups, the medium-dose group was the most effective one. Thus, we believe that curcumin may be a potential therapeutic agent that can regulate the critical molecules in brain insulin signalling pathways. Furthermore, curcumin could be adopted as one of the AD treatments to improve a patient's learning and memory ability.
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Chinese Internal Medicine of Ministry of Education and Beijing, Dongzhimen Hospital, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine (BUCM), PR China.|Key Laboratory of Pharmacology of State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Dongzhimen Hospital, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine (BUCM), Beijing, PR China.
authors.forename: Hui-Li
authors.initials: HL
authors.lastname: Feng
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Chinese Internal Medicine of Ministry of Education and Beijing, Dongzhimen Hospital, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine (BUCM), PR China.|Pneumology Department, Huimin Hospital, Beijing, PR China.
authors.forename: Hui-Zi
authors.initials: HZ
authors.lastname: Dang
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Chinese Internal Medicine of Ministry of Education and Beijing, Dongzhimen Hospital, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine (BUCM), PR China.|Beijing Chaoyang Combine Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine Emergency Medical Center, Beijing, PR China.
authors.forename: Hui
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Fan
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Chinese Internal Medicine of Ministry of Education and Beijing, Dongzhimen Hospital, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine (BUCM), PR China.|Kaifeng Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Kaifeng, PR China.
authors.forename: Xiao-Pei
authors.initials: XP
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA.
authors.forename: Ying-Xue
authors.initials: YX
authors.lastname: Rao
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Chinese Internal Medicine of Ministry of Education and Beijing, Dongzhimen Hospital, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine (BUCM), PR China.|Key Laboratory of Pharmacology of State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Dongzhimen Hospital, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine (BUCM), Beijing, PR China.
authors.forename: Ying
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ren
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Chinese Internal Medicine of Ministry of Education and Beijing, Dongzhimen Hospital, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine (BUCM), PR China.|Key Laboratory of Pharmacology of State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Dongzhimen Hospital, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine (BUCM), Beijing, PR China.
authors.forename: Jin-Duo
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Chinese Internal Medicine of Ministry of Education and Beijing, Dongzhimen Hospital, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine (BUCM), PR China.|BUCM Neurology Center, Dongzhimen Hospital, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, PR China.
authors.forename: Jing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Shi
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Chinese Internal Medicine of Ministry of Education and Beijing, Dongzhimen Hospital, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine (BUCM), PR China pw_wang@163.com.|Key Laboratory of Pharmacology of State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Dongzhimen Hospital, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine (BUCM), Beijing, PR China.
authors.forename: Peng-Wen
authors.initials: PW
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Chinese Internal Medicine of Ministry of Education and Beijing, Dongzhimen Hospital, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine (BUCM), PR China.|BUCM Neurology Center, Dongzhimen Hospital, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, PR China.
authors.forename: Jin-Zhou
authors.initials: JZ
authors.lastname: Tian
mesh_terms: D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000378:metabolism*; D016229:Amyloid beta-Peptides / Q000378:metabolism; D016564:Amyloid beta-Protein Precursor / Q000378:metabolism; D000818:Animals; D001921:Brain / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism; D003474:Curcumin / Q000494:pharmacology*; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D007328:Insulin / Q000378:metabolism*; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D008822:Mice, Transgenic; D019869:Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinases / Q000378:metabolism; D010766:Phosphorylation / Q000187:drug effects; D011972:Receptor, Insulin / Q000378:metabolism; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000187:drug effects*
chemical_list: D016229:Amyloid beta-Peptides; D016564:Amyloid beta-Protein Precursor; D007328:Insulin; D019869:Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinases; D011972:Receptor, Insulin; D003474:Curcumin
keywords: APPswe/PS1dE9 double transgenic mice; Alzheimer’s disease; curcumin; insulin receptor; insulin signal transduction pathway