In the current study sophocarpine was investigated in vitro for prevention of β-amyloid induced PC12 neuronal cell damage. Exposure to β-amyloid caused a dose-dependent suppression in growth of PC12 cells with maximum reduction at 10 μM. Sophocarpine pre-treatment reversed suppressive effect of β-amyloid (10 μM) on PC12 cell growth in concentration-based manner. In sophocarpine pre-treated PC12 cells the β-amyloid mediated PGE2 level elevation was attenuated significantly at 0.25-2 μM doses. Moreover, in sophocarpine pretreated PC12 cells the β-amyloid mediated promotion of COX-2 level was also inhibited. Sophocarpine pre-treatment attenuated iNOS expression in β-amyloid exposed PC12 cells at 0.25-2 μM doses. Pre-treatment of PC12 cells with sophocarpine suppressed NO-species generation induced by β-amyloid exposure. In sophocarpine pretreated PC12 cells elevation of nuclear NF-κB expression induced by β-amyloid was significantly inhibited. In summary, sophocarpine prevents reduction of PC12 cell growth induced by β-amyloid exposure via inhibition of inflammatory processes. The preventive effect of sophocarpine on β-amyloid induced PC12 cell damage is associated with inhibition of NF-κB nuclear translocation. Therefore, sophocarpine may be used for treatment of neurological disorders like Alzheimer's disease.
Keywords: Alzheimer’s disease; anti-inflammatory; natural product; sophocarpine; β-amyloid.