Glaucocalyxin A as a natural product increases amyloid β clearance and decreases tau phosphorylation involving the mammalian target of rapamycin signaling pathway

Neuroreport. 2019 Mar 6;30(4):310-316. doi: 10.1097/WNR.0000000000001202.

Abstract

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder correlated with age, characterized by the accumulation of amyloid β (Aβ) plaques and neurofibrillary tangles. The mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) is an important protein that regulates Aβ clearance and tau phosphorylation. Therefore, mTOR has become a pivotal therapeutic target for AD treatment. In this study, we discovered a natural product, glaucocalyxin A (GLA), as a new mTOR inhibitor based on a high-throughput screening platform with α-screen technology against our natural product library. Further study showed that GLA increased Aβ clearance involving the protein kinase B/mTOR/autophagy signaling pathway and inhibited tau phosphorylation involving the mTOR/70-kDa ribosomal protein S6 kinase pathway, which highlighted the therapeutic potential of GLA for the AD treatment.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Amyloid beta-Peptides / drug effects*
  • Amyloid beta-Peptides / metabolism
  • Animals
  • Cell Line
  • Diterpenes, Kaurane / pharmacology*
  • HEK293 Cells
  • Humans
  • Mice
  • Phosphorylation / drug effects
  • Signal Transduction / drug effects
  • TOR Serine-Threonine Kinases / antagonists & inhibitors*
  • TOR Serine-Threonine Kinases / drug effects
  • tau Proteins / drug effects*
  • tau Proteins / metabolism

Substances

  • Amyloid beta-Peptides
  • Diterpenes, Kaurane
  • tau Proteins
  • glaucocalyxin A
  • TOR Serine-Threonine Kinases