Chaihu Shugan San, a traditional Chinese medicine, can lessen Alzheimer's disease cognitive dysfunction through multiple biological targets and pathways of action.
In exploring the effects of Chaihu Shugan San (CSS) on Alzheimer's Disease, the researchers initially identified 152 active compounds in CSS, 520 predicted biological targets and 160 Alzheimer's disease-related targets. They then constructed several networks, including herb-compound-target network, which outlines connections between the medicinal herbs and their linked impacts, an Alzheimer's disease-target network, and a CSS potential target-Alzheimer's target network. A central network topological analysis was used to discern 60 key targets that are largely contributive to CSS's beneficial effects on Alzheimer's Disease. These targets were majorly identified as nuclear or cytoplasmic proteins with a molecular function of protein binding.
In discussing the experiment results, the researchers found that CSS treatment could alleviate neural cell death caused by Aβ (amyloid beta, a peptide believed to contribute to Alzheimer's Disease). They noticed a drop in apoptotic, or self-destroying, cell count in differentiated PC12 cells that underwent CSS treatment. Subsequently, they observed an upsurge in the phosphorylation of a protein, Akt, and a downswing in the expression of another protein, Bax, indicating that the Akt signaling pathway plays a vital part in the CSS's protective impact against neural cell destruction.
