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Reducing iron in the brain: a novel pharmacologic mechanism of huperzine A in the treatment of Alzheimer's disease
Authors:Xiao-Tian Huang  Zhong-Ming Qian  Xuan He  Qi Gong  Ka-Chun Wu  Li-Rong Jiang  Li-Na Lu  Zhou-jing Zhu  Hai-Yan Zhang  Wing-Ho Yung  Ya Ke
Affiliation:1. School of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong SAR, China;2. Laboratory of Neuropharmacology, School of Pharmacy, Fudan University, Shanghai, China;3. State Key Laboratory of Drug Research, Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China
Abstract:Huperzine A (HupA), a natural inhibitor of acetylcholinesterase derived from a plant, is a licensed anti-Alzheimer's disease (AD) drug in China and a nutraceutical in the United States. In addition to acting as an acetylcholinesterase inhibitor, HupA possesses neuroprotective properties. However, the relevant mechanism is unknown. Here, we showed that the neuroprotective effect of HupA was derived from a novel action on brain iron regulation. HupA treatment reduced insoluble and soluble beta amyloid levels, ameliorated amyloid plaques formation, and hyperphosphorylated tau in the cortex and hippocampus of APPswe/PS1dE9 transgenic AD mice. Also, HupA decreased beta amyloid oligomers and amyloid precursor protein levels, and increased A Disintegrin And Metalloprotease Domain 10 (ADAM10) expression in these treated AD mice. However, these beneficial effects of HupA were largely abolished by feeding the animals with a high iron diet. In parallel, we found that HupA decreased iron content in the brain and demonstrated that HupA also has a role to reduce the expression of transferrin-receptor 1 as well as the transferrin-bound iron uptake in cultured neurons. The findings implied that reducing iron in the brain is a novel mechanism of HupA in the treatment of Alzheimer's disease.
Keywords:Huperzine A   Alzheimer's disease   Brain iron   Transferrin receptor 1   Double transgenic APPswe/PS1dE9 mice (APP/PS mice)   The neuronal amyloid precursor protein (APP)
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