Abstract
BackgroundAlzheimer’s disease (AD), an age-related neurodegenerative disorder and a serious public health concern, is mainly caused by β-amyloid (Aβ)-induced toxicity. Currently, a limited number of drugs are effective against AD, and only a few are used for its treatment. According to traditional Chinese medicine, white wax is mainly composed of policosanol, hexacosanol, and octacosanol. Policosanol has been shown to reduce lipid levels in blood and alleviate the symptoms associated with diabetic complications and neurodegenerative disorders, such as Parkinson’s disease and AD. However, the efficacy of policosanol depends on the purity and composition of the preparation, and the therapeutic efficacy of policosanol derived from insect wax (PIW) in AD is unknown.MethodsHere, we identified the main components of PIW and investigated the effects of PIW on Aβ-induced toxicity and life-span in a transgenic Caenorhabditis elegans model of AD, CL4176. Furthermore, we estimated the expression of amyloid precursor-like protein (apl-1) and the genes involved in various pathways associated with longevity and alleviation of AD-related symptoms in PIW-fed CL4176.ResultsPIW mainly consists of tetracosanol, hexacosanol, octacosanol, and triacontanol; it could decrease the Aβ-induced paralysis rate from 86.87 to 66.97% (P < 0.01) and extend the life-span from 6.2 d to 7.8 d (P < 0.001) in CL4176 worms. Furthermore, PIW downregulated apl-1, a gene known to be associated with the levels of Aβ deposits in C. elegans. Additionally, our results showed that PIW modulated the expression of genes associated with longevity-related pathways such as heat shock response, anti-oxidative stress, and glutamine cysteine synthetase.ConclusionOur findings suggest that PIW may be a potential therapeutic agent for the prevention and treatment of AD. However, its effects on murine models and patients with AD need to be explored further.
Highlights
Alzheimer’s disease (AD), an age-related neurodegenerative disorder and a serious public health concern, is mainly caused by β-amyloid (Aβ)-induced toxicity
Paralysis assay of policosanol derived from insect wax (PIW)-fed transgenic C. elegans We investigated the protective role played by PIW against Aβ-induced toxicity using the transgenic C. elegans strain, CL4176
Our results indicated that the CL4176 worms fed PIW showed a reduced rate of paralysis compared to that of control worms
Summary
Alzheimer’s disease (AD), an age-related neurodegenerative disorder and a serious public health concern, is mainly caused by β-amyloid (Aβ)-induced toxicity. Insect wax secreted by the male second-instar larva of the scale insect Ericerus pela Chavannes (Fig. 1a, Fig. 1b, Fig. 1c), known as white wax (Fig. 1d) [1], has been used in China for over a thousand years for various medicinal and industrial purposes [2, 3]. It is extensively used in the textile and batik, food packaging, precision instrument lubrication and sealing, medicine, and cosmetic industries [1, 4, 5]. In China, research on white wax and the white wax scale insect has been continually carried out to promote the growth of its insect wax industry
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