Objective: To observe the effect of curcumin on the expression of Abeta42 and its degrading enzyme NEP in APP/PS1 double transgenic mice.
Method: 3-month old APP/PS1 dtg mice were randomly divided into model group, positive control group and curcumin large, medium and small dose group. After 3 months, Morris water maze, immunohistochemistry, Western blot were applied to detect learning and memory ability of animal.
Result: Behavior detection, compared with the model group, treatment group showed varying degrees of difference in place navigation test and space exploration experiments (P < 0.01 or P < 0.05). The expression of Abeta42 and its degrading enzyme NEP, Abeta42-positive cells of hippocampus CA1 region significantly increased in model mice as compared with normal control group (P < 0.01).
Conclusion: Curcumin can improve learning and memory ability of APP/PS1 double transgenic mice through increasing the expression of Abeta-degrading enzyme NEP and decreasing the expression of Abeta42.