AMELIORATIVE EFFECTS OF BACOPA MONNIERI (LINN.) WETTST n-BUTANOL EXTRACT ON NEUROBEHAVIORAL DEFICITS IN TRANSGENIC DROSOPHILA EXPRESSING HUMAN AMYLOID PRECURSOR PROTEIN

Tóm tắt

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disorder and the most common form of dementia in the group aged above 60 years. It is accompanied by neuronal disorders along with learning and memory defects, as well as locomotor impairment. Because 70% of human disease-related genes are conserved in Drosophila melanogaster (D. melanogaster), especially those associated with types of risk factors for AD, this is a powerful model to study AD and develop the therapeutic AD drugs. In this study, we evaluate the effect of n-butanol extract from Bacopa monnieri (BM) on behaviors in transgenic flies expressing human amyloid precursor protein (hAPP) as a model organism for AD. Behavioral experiments were conducted to evaluate the crawling ability and short-term memory of third-instar larvae as well as climbing ability of adult flies. Furthermore, the expression of hAPP was evaluated in the head of adult flies which were exposed by 4 and 6 mg/mL BM extract using Western blot method. The results showed that the n-butanol extract from BM was effective in improving the ability of third-instar larvae to crawl and short-term memory, the ability of adult flies to climb, and at the same time suppressed the hAPP expression in adult brain. The results suggest that BM extract is a candidate for the treatment of behavioral deficits in transgenic Drosophila expressing hAPP protein.