Alzheimer’s disease (AD), one of the most common neurodegenerative diseases, threatens people’s health. Based on the theory of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) efficacy and treatment theory, we first proposed the Alpinia oxyphylla–Schisandra chinensis herb pair (ASHP) for finding a candidate of AD treatment. This study aimed at exploring the effects of ASHP on improving the cognitive function and neurodegeneration, and revealing the possible mechanism. In this study, an amyloid-β (Aβ) induced AD model was established in mice via intracerebroventricular injection. The Y-maze test and Morris water maze test were carried out to observe the behavioral change of mice, which showed that ASHP significantly ameliorated cognitive impairment. In addition, ASHP reduced amyloid-β deposition and downregulated the hyperphosphorylation of tau via immunofluorescence assay and western blot analysis, respectively. Subsequently we focused on the PI3K/Akt pathway that is a classical pathway related to nervous system diseases. It also noticeably ASHP improved the histopathological changes in the hippocampus and cortex. Moreover, it was found that ASHP could upregulate the PI3K/Akt/Gsk-3β/CREB signaling pathway in N2a-SwedAPP cells. Taken together, it suggests that ASHP might reverse cognitive deficits and neurodegeneration via PI3K/Akt/Gsk-3β/CREB pathway.

中文翻译：

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益智草-五味子通过PI3K / Akt /Gsk-3β/ CREB途径缓解淀粉样β诱导的认知功能障碍

阿尔茨海默氏病（AD）是最常见的神经退行性疾病之一，威胁着人们的健康。基于中药功效理论和治疗理论，我们首先提出了益智草-五味子草药对（ASHP），用于寻找AD治疗的候选药物。本研究旨在探讨ASHP对改善认知功能和神经变性的作用，并揭示其可能的机制。在这项研究中，通过脑室内注射在小鼠体内建立了淀粉样β（Aβ）诱导的AD模型。进行了Y-迷宫测试和Morris水迷宫测试，观察了小鼠的行为变化，表明ASHP显着改善了认知障碍。此外，分别通过免疫荧光测定和蛋白质印迹分析，ASHP减少了淀粉样蛋白β的沉积并下调了tau蛋白的磷酸化。随后，我们专注于PI3K / Akt途径，这是与神经系统疾病相关的经典途径。它还明显改善了ASHP，改善了海马和皮层的组织病理学变化。而且，发现ASHP可以上调N2a-SwedAPP细胞中的PI3K / Akt /Gsk-3β/ CREB信号传导途径。两者合计，表明ASHP可能通过PI3K / Akt /Gsk-3β/ CREB途径逆转认知缺陷和神经变性。