Huperzine A attenuates cognitive dysfunction and neuronal degeneration caused by β-amyloid protein-(1-40) in rat

Huperzine A, a promising therapeutic agent for Alzheimer's disease, was examined for its potential to antagonize the deleterious neurochemical, structural, and cognitive effects of infusing beta -amyloid protein-(1-40) into the cerebral ventricles of rats. Daily intraperitoneal administration of huperzine A for 12 consecutive days produced significant reversals of the beta -amyloid-induced deficit in learning a water maze task. This treatment also reduced the loss of choline acetyltransferase activity in cerebral cortex, and the neuronal degeneration induced by beta -amyloid protein-(1-40). In addition, huperzine A partly reversed the down-regulation of anti-apoptotic Bcl-2 and the up-regulation of pro-apoptotic Bar and P53 proteins and reduced the apoptosis that normally followed beta -amyloid injection. The present findings confirm that huperzine A can alleviate the cognitive dysfunction induced by intracerebroventricular infusion of beta -amyloid protein-(1-40) in rats. The beneficial effects are not confined to the cholinergic system, but also include favorable changes in the expression of apoptosis-related proteins and in the extent of apoptosis in widespread regions of the brain. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.