Background:
Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) is characterized by the presence of extracellular
amyloid-β (Aβ) plaques and intraneuronal neurofibrillary tangles assembled by the microtubuleassociated
protein tau. Increasing evidence demonstrated that tau pathology played an important role in
AD progression. Resveratrol (RSV) has previously proved to exert neuroprotective effect against AD by
inhibiting Aβ generation and Aβ-induced neurocytotoxicity, while its effect on tau pathology is still unknown.
Method:
The effect of RSV on tau aggregation was measured by Thioflavin T fluorescence and Transmission
electron microscope imaging. The effect of RSV on tau oligomer-induced cytotoxicity was assessed
by MTT assay and the uptake of extracellular tau by N2a cells was determined by immunocytochemistry.
6-month-old male PS19 mice were treated with RSV or vehicle by oral administration (gavage)
once a day for 5 weeks. The cognitive performance was determined using Morris water maze test,
object recognition test and Y-maze test. The levels of phosphorylated-tau, gliosis, proinflammatory cytokines
such as TNF-α and IL-1β, and synaptic proteins including synaptophysin and PSD95 in the
brains of the mice were evaluated by immunoblotting, immunostaining and ELISA, respectively.
Results:
RSV significantly inhibited tau aggregation and tau oligomer-induced cytotoxicity, and blocked
the uptake of extracellular tau oligomers by N2a cells. When applied to PS19 mice, RSV treatment effectively
rescued cognitive deficits, reducing the levels of phosphorylated tau, neuroinflammation and
synapse loss in the brains of mice.
Conclusion:
These findings suggest that RSV has promising therapeutic potential for AD and other
tauopathies.
