ABSTRACT
Objective:
To investigate the effects of modified Buwangsan on the
learning and
memory ability of
Alzheimer's disease (AD) model
rats and the expression of
NOD-like receptor 3 (NLRP3),
cysteine-containing
aspartate-specific
proteases 1 (Caspase-1) and
interleukin-1 beta (
IL-1β) in NLRP3 inflammatory pathway in
hippocampus of AD model
rats, and exploring the underlying mechanism of modified Buwangsan.
Method:
The 52 eligible
rats were randomly divided into sham
control group, AD model group, low-
dose modified Buwangsan group (1.5 g·kg-1) and high-
dose modified Buwangsan group (3 g·kg-1). AD
mouse model was established by bilateral
hippocampus injection of Aβ1-425 μL (2 g·L-1). The
rats in low-
dose and high-
dose modified Buwangsan group received low and high
dose modified Buwangsan respectively within the next 4 weeks, once daily. The
learning and
memory ability was tested by
Morris water maze. The expression of NLRP3, Caspase-1 and
IL-1β
mRNA was tested by quantitative
PCR(
Real-time PCR) and
Western blot.
Result:
As compared with the sham group, the
learning and
memory ability of the
rats were significantly impaired (P<0.05). Compared with AD model group, the
learning and
memory ability and the expression levels of NLRP3, Caspase-1, and
IL-1β
mRNA and
protein were all no statistical differences in low-
dose modified Buwangsan group, while the
learning and
memory ability of the
rats were significantly improved and the expression of NLRP3, Caspase-1 and
IL-1β
mRNA in
hippocampus of
rats was significantly decreased in high-
dose modified Buwangsan group (P<0.05).
Conclusion:
High-
dose modified Buwangsan could attenuate
neuroinflammation in the
hippocampus of AD
mouse model via inhibiting the expression of NLRP3, Caspase-1 and
IL-1β, which may be the mechanisms of modified Buwangsan could be used to ameliorate the
learning and
memory ability of AD
mouse model.