Effect of Plant Compound Curcumin on the Expression of SR-BI and ABCA1 in Hippocampal Neurons of APPswe/PS1dE9 Double Transgenic Mice

Abstract

Disorder of cholesterol metabolism plays important roles in pathogenesis of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Plant compound curcumin has been reported to decrease Aβ deposition and cholesterol in serum, while the detailed mechanism is still unknown. To investigate the effect of curcumin on the cholesterol metabolism in Alzheimer’s disease, APPswe/PS1dE9 double transgenic mice were fed with 500ppm of curcumin every day for six months. Immunohistochemistryresults showed that the expression of ATP-binding cassette transporter A1 (ABCA1) in hippocampal neurons was increased significantly, whereas the expression of scavenger receptor class B type I (SR-BI) was not detected. These findings suggest that curcumin may promote cholesterol efflux via ABCA1 transmembrane-transport system rather than SR-BI in neurons of AD.