Effects of melatonin on expressions of β-amyloid protein and S100β in rats with senile dementia

J. Fang, Y.-H. Li, X.-H. Li, W.-W. Chen, J. He, M.-Z. Xue

Department of Cerebrovascular Disease, the Second Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan, China. MengzhouXue2as@163.com

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• Pharmacology

OBJECTIVE: To explore the effects of melatonin (MT) on expressions of β-amyloid protein (β-AP) and S100β in rats with senile dementia.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 36 Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into Sham group, Model group and MT group, with 12 rats in each group. Senile dementia models were established in each group except Sham group. After modeling, rats in Model group were given tail vein injection with 0.9% sodium chloride once per day. Rats in MT group were given tail vein injection with MT once per day. Materials were collected at 40 d after the intervention. Hematoxylin-Eosin (HE) staining was adopted to observe histomorphology of hippocampal area, Western blotting to detect expressions of β-AP and S100β protein, and quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) to detect expressions of β-AP mRNA and S100β mRNA.

RESULTS: Histomorphology in hippocampal area of both Model group and MT group was changed compared with that in Sham group. Histomorphology data showed that the damage in the hippocampal area in MT group was improved compared with that in Model group. Western blotting detection showed that expressions of β-AP and S100β in Model group and MT group were significantly increased compared with those in Sham group (p<0.05). Expressions of β-AP and S100β protein in MT group were significantly decreased compared with those in Model group (p<0.05). Results of qPCR revealed that expressions of β-AP mRNA and S100β mRNA in Model group and MT group were also significantly increased compared with those in Sham group, and there were statistically significant differences (p<0.05). Expressions of β-AP mRNA and S100β mRNA in MT group were significantly decreased compared with those in Model group (p<0.05).

CONCLUSIONS: MT can inhibit expressions of β-AP and S100β protein in the hippocampal area of model rats with senile dementia, which provides leads for the future treatment of senile dementia.

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