β-Asarone Mitigates Amyloidosis and Downregulates RAGE in a Transgenic Mouse Model of Alzheimer’s Disease

Elevated β-amyloid (Aβ) is a hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Recent evidence has suggested that the receptor of advanced glycation end products (RAGE) is a key target for Aβ-induced perturbation in AD, and blockade of RAGE significantly alleviates synaptic injury. Our previous study has suggested that β-asarone could reduce neuronal apoptosis and improve memory deficits in β-amyloid precursor protein and presenilin-1 (APP/PS1) double transgenic AD-model mice. In the present study, we evaluated the effects of β-asarone on amyloidosis in APP/PS1 mice. We found that the survival of neurons of APP/PS1 mice was improved by β-asarone, meanwhile, β-asarone decreased Aβ deposition and down-regulated Aβ1–42 levels in cortex and hippocampus of APP/PS1 mice brain. Interestingly, the level of RAGE was also significantly down-regulated by β-asarone. Our findings suggest that β-asarone might be effective for the treatment of AD, and the decreasing effects of β-asarone on Aβ might associate with its down-regulation of RAGE.