Salvianolic Acid B Inhibits Aß Generation by Modulating BACE1 Activity in SH-SY5Y-APPsw Cells.

ABSTRACT

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease in humans. The accumulation of amyloid-ß (Aß) plays a critical role in the pathogenesis of AD. Previous studies indicated that Salvianolic acid B (SalB) could ameliorate Aß-induced memory impairment. However, whether SalB could influence the generation of Aß is unclear. Here, we show that SalB (25, 50, or 100 µM) reduces the generation of Aß40 and Aß42 in culture media by decreasing the protein expressions of BACE1 and sAPPß in SH-SY5Y-APPsw cells. Meanwhile, SalB increases the levels of ADAM10 and sAPPα in the cells. However, SalB has no impact on the protein expressions of APP and PS1. Moreover, SalB attenuates oxidative stress and inhibits the activity of GSK3ß, which might be related to the suppression of BACE1 expression and amyloidogenesis. Our study suggests that SalB is a promising therapeutic agent for AD by targeting Aß generation.