Title |
Curcumin Promotes A-beta Fibrillation and Reduces Neurotoxicity in Transgenic Drosophila
|
---|---|
Published in |
PLOS ONE, February 2012
|
DOI | 10.1371/journal.pone.0031424 |
Pubmed ID | |
Authors |
Ina Caesar, Maria Jonson, K. Peter R. Nilsson, Stefan Thor, Per Hammarström |
Abstract |
The pathology of Alzheimer's disease (AD) is characterized by the presence of extracellular deposits of misfolded and aggregated amyloid-β (Aβ) peptide and intraneuronal accumulation of tangles comprised of hyperphosphorylated Tau protein. For several years, the natural compound curcumin has been proposed to be a candidate for enhanced clearance of toxic Aβ amyloid. In this study we have studied the potency of feeding curcumin as a drug candidate to alleviate Aβ toxicity in transgenic Drosophila. The longevity as well as the locomotor activity of five different AD model genotypes, measured relative to a control line, showed up to 75% improved lifespan and activity for curcumin fed flies. In contrast to the majority of studies of curcumin effects on amyloid we did not observe any decrease in the amount of Aβ deposition following curcumin treatment. Conformation-dependent spectra from p-FTAA, a luminescent conjugated oligothiophene bound to Aβ deposits in different Drosophila genotypes over time, indicated accelerated pre-fibrillar to fibril conversion of Aβ(1-42) in curcumin treated flies. This finding was supported by in vitro fibrillation assays of recombinant Aβ(1-42). Our study shows that curcumin promotes amyloid fibril conversion by reducing the pre-fibrillar/oligomeric species of Aβ, resulting in a reduced neurotoxicity in Drosophila. |
X Demographics
Geographical breakdown
Country | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
Australia | 2 | 29% |
United Kingdom | 1 | 14% |
United States | 1 | 14% |
Canada | 1 | 14% |
Sweden | 1 | 14% |
Unknown | 1 | 14% |
Demographic breakdown
Type | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
Members of the public | 5 | 71% |
Scientists | 1 | 14% |
Practitioners (doctors, other healthcare professionals) | 1 | 14% |
Mendeley readers
Geographical breakdown
Country | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
India | 2 | 1% |
Spain | 2 | 1% |
United States | 2 | 1% |
Korea, Republic of | 1 | <1% |
Sweden | 1 | <1% |
Japan | 1 | <1% |
United Kingdom | 1 | <1% |
Unknown | 141 | 93% |
Demographic breakdown
Readers by professional status | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
Student > Ph. D. Student | 30 | 20% |
Researcher | 23 | 15% |
Student > Master | 19 | 13% |
Student > Bachelor | 13 | 9% |
Student > Doctoral Student | 10 | 7% |
Other | 28 | 19% |
Unknown | 28 | 19% |
Readers by discipline | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
Agricultural and Biological Sciences | 40 | 26% |
Medicine and Dentistry | 18 | 12% |
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology | 14 | 9% |
Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutical Science | 13 | 9% |
Chemistry | 11 | 7% |
Other | 25 | 17% |
Unknown | 30 | 20% |