Epigallocatechin Gallate Attenuates β-Amyloid Generation and Oxidative Stress Involvement of PPARγ in N2a/APP695 Cells.

The accumulation of β-amyloid (Aβ) peptide plaques is a major pathogenic event in Alzheimer's disease (AD). Aβ is a cleaved fragment of APP via BACE1, which is the rate-limiting enzyme in APP processing and Aβ generation. Nuclear receptor peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARγ) is considered to be a potential target for AD treatment, because of its potent antioxidant and inhibitory effects on Aβ production by negatively regulating BACE1.

Fuzhisan Ameliorates the Memory Deficits in Aged SAMP8 Mice via Decreasing Aβ Production and Tau Hyperphosphorylation of the Hippocampus.

The pathological features of Alzheimer's disease (AD) include extracellular neuritic plaques containing β-amyloid (Aβ) peptide, a cleaved fragment of amyloid precursor protein (APP) via β-site amyloid precursor protein-cleaving enzyme 1 (BACE1) and intracellular neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs) composed of hyperphosphorylated tau. Cyclin-dependent kinase 5 (Cdk5) is increasingly thought to play a pivotal role in the pathogenesis of AD, both as a regulator of the production of Aβ and through its well-established role as a tau kinase. Fuzhisan (FZS), a Chinese herbal complex prescription, has been used for the treatment AD for over 20 years, and is known to enhance the cognitive ability in AD patients as well as in AD model rats.

Fuzhisan ameliorates Aβ production and tau phosphorylation in hippocampal of 11month old APP/PS1 transgenic mice: A Western blot study.

Accumulation of amyloid-β (Aβ) peptide and deposition of hyperphosphorylated tau protein are two major pathological hallmarks of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Glycogen synthase kinase-3β (GSK3β) is increasingly thought to play a pivotal role in the pathogenesis of AD, both as a regulator of the production of Aβ and through its well-established role on tau phosphorylation. The phosphoinositide 3 kinase (PI3K)/Akt pathway plays an import role in neuronal survival and cognitive function, and is known as an upstream element of GSK3β.