title: Asiaticoside ameliorates β-amyloid-induced learning and memory deficits in rats by inhibiting mitochondrial apoptosis and reducing inflammatory factors.
abstract: The present study aimed to investigate the effects of asiaticoside (AS) on the pathology and associated mechanisms of β-amyloid (Aβ)-induced Alzheimer's disease (AD) in rats. An AD rat model was established by lateral intracerebroventricular injection of Aβ 1-42 oligomers. Learning and memory function were evaluated by Morris water maze (MWM) test. In addition, hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) staining, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), immunohistochemistry, ELISA and western blot analysis were performed to evaluate the disease pathogenesis. The results indicated that AS exerted protective effects in rats treated with Aβ oligomers, in a dose-dependent manner, as evidenced by the improved learning and memory function in the MWM test. In addition, H&E staining of hippocampal tissue showed that the histological structure was damaged in the model group, which was restored by AS treatment. Aβ deposition was dramatically increased in the model group, and the pathological changes were reversed by AS treatment. TEM revealed that the subcellular structure was injured by Aβ oligomers, however, the structure was ameliorated by AS treatment. Furthermore, AS was found to reduce the elevated levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines, interleukin-6 and tumor necrosis factor-α, in the brains of Aβ-treated rats. In addition, AS treatment resulted in a significant decrease in the expression of caspases-3, whereas the expression of B-cell lymphoma-2 was significantly increased, in these Aβ-treated rats. According to the findings of the observed study, AS has a marked protective effect on Aβ-induced AD pathology, and the underlying mechanism may be associated with the alleviation of the mitochondrial injuries, the anti-inflammatory activities, and the influence on the expression levels of apoptosis-associated proteins.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology, Luzhou Medical College, Luzhou, Sichuan 646000, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Zhuo
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology, Luzhou Medical College, Luzhou, Sichuan 646000, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Xiaobin
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Respiratory Internal Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital of Luzhou Medical College, Luzhou, Sichuan 646000, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Duo
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Research Centre of Medicine and Functional Foods, Luzhou Medical College, Luzhou, Sichuan 646000, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Mao
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Luo
authors.affiliation: Department of Research Centre of Medicine and Functional Foods, Luzhou Medical College, Luzhou, Sichuan 646000, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Yongjie
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Anesthesiology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Luzhou Medical College, Luzhou, Sichuan 646000, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Li
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Song
authors.affiliation: Department of Anesthesiology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Luzhou Medical College, Luzhou, Sichuan 646000, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Xian
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Jiang
keywords: B-cell lymphoma-2; anti-inflammatory; asiaticoside; caspase-3; β-amyloid