Institute of Advanced Studies, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Singapore.
Biosci Trends. 2011;5(3):129-38. doi: 10.5582/bst.2011.v5.3.129.
Gastrodia elata (Tianma) is a traditional Chinese medicine often used for the treatment of headache, convulsions, hypertension, and cardiovascular diseases. The vasodilatory actions of Tianma led us to investigate its specific effects on memory and learning as well as on Alzheimer's disease (AD)-related signaling. We conducted a radial arm water maze analysis and the novel object recognition test to assess the cognitive functions of Tianma-treated mice. Our data show that Tianma enhances cognitive functions in mice. Further investigations revealed that Tianma enhances the α-secretase-mediated proteolytic processing of the amyloid precursor protein (App) that precludes the amyloid-β peptide production and supports the non-amyloidogenic processing of App which is favorable in AD treatment. We hypothesize that Tianma promotes cognitive functions and neuronal survival by inhibiting β-site App-cleaving enzyme 1 activity and promoting the neuroprotective α-secretase activity.
天麻是一种传统的中药，常用于治疗头痛、抽搐、高血压和心血管疾病。天麻的血管舒张作用促使我们研究其对记忆和学习以及阿尔茨海默病（AD）相关信号的具体影响。我们进行了放射臂水迷宫分析和新物体识别测试，以评估天麻处理小鼠的认知功能。我们的数据表明天麻可增强小鼠的认知功能。进一步的研究表明，天麻可增强淀粉样前体蛋白（APP）的 α-分泌酶介导的蛋白水解加工，从而阻止淀粉样 β 肽的产生，并支持 APP 的非淀粉样生成，这有利于 AD 的治疗。我们假设天麻通过抑制β-位点 APP 切割酶 1 活性和促进神经保护的α-分泌酶活性来促进认知功能和神经元存活。
