Protective effects of berberin on the cellular model of Alzheimer's disease induced by Aβ_(25 ~ 35)

Objective To investigate the protective mechanism of berberin on the hippocampus neurons of rat injured by Aβ25 ~ 35.Methods Aβ25 ~ 35 was used to treat the hippocampus neurons of primary culture rat,at the final concentration of 25 μmol /L for 36 hours,Alzheimer's disease(AD) model was reproduced,and then interfered with berberin(1,2 and 4 μmol /L). MTT assay was used to observe the cell vitality; Annexin V-FITC /PI double stain flow cytometry assay was used to examine the early neural apoptosis,Western blot was used to observe the expression of activated caspase-3 protein. Results The cell vitality in AD model was decreased and the early neural apoptosis of AD model was significantly increased compared with the control group(P 0. 01). The early cell apoptosis induced by Aβ25 ~ 35 was significantly decreased under 4 μmol /L berberin treatment(P 0. 01). The expression of activated caspase-3 protein in model group was respectively decreased by 30. 4%,41. 2% and 63. 1% under berberin treatment(1,2 and 4 μmol /L). Conclusions Berberin exhibits the protective effects against the cellular model of AD,its mechanism relates with the inhibition of cell apoptosis induced by Aβ25 ~ 35.