Lovastatin improves neurological outcome after nucleus basalis magnocellularis lesion in rats

Perspective insights of repurposing the pleiotropic efficacy of statins in neurodegenerative disorders: An expository appraisal

Neurodegenerative disorders which affects a larger population pose a great clinical challenge. These disorders impact the quality of life of an individual by damaging the neurons, which are the unit cells of the brain. Clinicians are faced with the grave challenge of inhibiting the progression of these diseases as available treatment options fail to meet the clinical demand. Thus, treating the disease/disorder symptomatically is the Hobson's choice. The goal of the researchers is to introduce newer therapies in this segment and introducing a new molecule will take long years of development. Hence, drug repurposing/repositioning can be a better substitute in comparison to time consuming and expensive drug discovery and development cycle. Presently, a paradigm shift towards the re-purposing of drugs can be witnessed. Statins which have been previously approved as anti-hyperlipidemic agents are in the limelight of research for re-purposed drugs. Owing to their anti-inflammatory and antioxidant nature, statins act as neuroprotective in several brain disorders. Further they attenuate the amyloid plaques and protein aggregation which are the triggering factors in the Alzheimer's and Parkinson's respectively. In case of Huntington disease and Multiple sclerosis they help in improving the psychomotor symptoms and stimulate remyelination thus acting as neuroprotective. This article reviews the potential of statins in treating neurodegenerative disorders along with a brief discussion on the safety concerns associated with use of statins and human clinical trial data linked with re-tasking statins for neurodegenerative disorders along with the regulatory perspectives involved with the drug repositioning.

An evidence-based review of neuronal cholesterol role in dementia and statins as a pharmacotherapy in reducing risk of dementia

INTRODUCTION

Dementia is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder impairing memory and cognition. Alzheimer's Disease, followed by vascular dementia - the most typical form. Risk factors for vascular dementia include diabetes, cardiovascular disease, hyperlipidemia. Lipids' levels are significantly associated with vascular changes in the brain.

AREAS COVERED

The present article reviews the cholesterol metabolism in the brain, which includes: the synthesis, transport, storage, and elimination process. Additionally, it reviews the role of cholesterol in the pathogenesis of dementia and statin as a therapeutic intervention in dementia. In addition to the above, it further reviews evidence in support of as well as against statin therapy in dementia, recent updates of statin pharmacology, and demerits of use of statin pharmacotherapy.

EXPERT OPINION

Amyloid-β peptides and intraneuronal neurofibrillary tangles are markers of Alzheimer's disease. Evidence shows cholesterol modulates the functioning of enzymes associated with Amyloid-β peptide processing and synthesis. Lowering cholesterol using statin may help prevent or delay the progression of dementia. This paper reviews the role of statin in dementia and recommends extensive future studies, including genetic research, to obtain a precise medication approach for patients with dementia.

Alleviating effects of Bushen-Yizhi formula on ibotenic acid-induced cholinergic impairments in rat

This study explored the curative effect and underlying mechanisms of a traditional Chinese medicine compound prescription, Bushen-Yizhi formula (BSYZ), in ibotenic acid (IBO)-induced rats. Morris water maze and novel object recognition tests showed that BSYZ significantly improved spatial and object memory. Brain immunohistochemistry staining showed that BSYZ significantly up-regulated expression of choline acetyltransferase (ChAT) and nerve growth factor (NGF) in the hippocampus and cortex. The protein tyrosine kinase high-affinity receptor TrkA was slightly increased in the hippocampus and cortex, and significantly enhanced in the nucleus basalis of Meynert (NBM) after BSYZ intervention. The immunoreactivity of the p75 low-affinity receptor in BSYZ-treated rats was significantly strengthened in the cortex. Similar expression trends of nerve growth factor (NGF), TrkA, and p75 mRNA were observed in the hippocampus and cortex. Additionally, BSYZ reversed IBO-induced disorders of acetylcholine (ACh) levels, ChAT, and cholinesterase (ChE) in the cortex, which was consistent with the changes in mRNA levels of ChAT and acetylcholinesterase (AChE). Expression of ChAT and AChE proteins and mRNA in the hippocampus was up-regulated, whereas the apoptosis-relative protein cleaved caspase-3 was decreased after administration of BSYZ. Moreover, changes in cell death were confirmed by histological morphology. Thus, the results indicated that the BSYZ formula could ameliorate memory impairments in IBO-induced rats, and it exerted its therapeutic action probably by modulating cholinergic pathways, NGF signaling, and anti-apoptosis. Overall, it is suggested that the BSYZ formula might be a potential therapeutic approach for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and other cholinergic impairment-related diseases.

Hypoxia induces osteogenesis-related activities and expression of core binding factor α1 in mesenchymal stem cells

Mesenchymal stem sells (MSCs) have received much attention in the field of bone tissue engineering due to their biological capability to differentiate into osteogenic lineage cells. Hypoxia-inducible factor 1alpha (HIF-1α) plays an important role in the MSC-related bone regeneration during hypoxia, while core binding factor alpha 1 (Cbfα1) is a transcription regulator that is involved in the chondrocyte differentiation and ossification. In the present study, we investigated the effects of hypoxia on biological capability of MSCs. MSCs were isolated from adult rabbit bone marrow, and were cultured in vitro under normoxia (air with 5% CO(2)) or hypoxia (5% CO(2) and 95% N(2)). The proliferation of MSCs, alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity, and production of collagens type I and type III (Col I/III) were examined. The expression levels of HIF-1α and Cbfα1 were measured by real-time PCR and western blot analyses. We found that hypoxia significantly induced the proliferation of MSCs and increased ALP activity and the production of Col I/III. Moreover, hypoxia increased the expression of Cbfα1 mRNA after 12 h, whereas the expression of HIF-1α mRNA was increased after 1 h of hypoxia. Knockdown of HIF-1α expression with a small interfering RNA significantly increased the expression levels of Cbfα1 protein either under the normoxia or hypoxia condition. Our results indicate that hypoxia enhances MSCs to differentiate into osteogenic lineage cells and suggest that Cbfα1 may be negatively regulated by HIF-1α.