RESUMO
The aggregation of ß-amyloid (Aß) has the neurotoxicity, which is thought to play critical role in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Inhibiting Aß deposition and neurotoxicity has been considered as an important strategy for AD treatment. 3,6'-Disinapoyl sucrose (DISS), one of the oligosaccharide esters derived from traditional Chinese medicine Polygalae Radix, possesses antioxidative activity, neuroprotective effect and anti-depressive activity. This study was to explore whether DISS could attenuate the pathological changes of Aß1-42 transgenic Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans). The results showed that DISS (5 and 50 µM) treatment significantly prolonged the life span, increased the number of egg-laying, reduced paralysis rate, decreased the levels of lipofuscin and ROS and attenuated Aß deposition in Aß1-42 transgenic C. elegans. Gene analysis showed that DISS could up-regulate the mRNA expression of sod-3, gst-4, daf-16, bec-1 and lgg-1, while down-regulate the mRNA expression of daf-2 and daf-15 in Aß1-42 transgenic C. elegans. These results suggested that DISS has the protective effect against Aß1-42 -induced pathological damages and prolongs the life span of C. elegans, which may be related to the reduction of Aß deposition and neurotoxicity by regulating expression of genes related to antioxidation and autophagy.