Effects of statins on alpha7 nicotinic receptor, cholinesterase and alpha-form of secreted amyloid precursor peptide in SH-SY5Y cells

• Published in: Neurochemistry international 2007-05, Vol.50 (6), p.800-806
• Main Authors: Roensch, Julia, Crisby, Milita, Nordberg, Agneta, Xiao, Yan, Zhang, Lan-Jiang, Guan, Zhi-Zhong
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Acetylcholinesterase - metabolism; alpha7 Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptor; Amyloid beta-Protein Precursor - metabolism; Amyloid Precursor Protein Secretases - metabolism; Blotting, Western; Butyrylcholinesterase - metabolism; Cell Line; Cell Survival - drug effects; Cholinesterases - metabolism; Humans; Hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA Reductase Inhibitors - pharmacology; Medicin och hälsovetenskap; Neuroprotective Agents; Receptors, Nicotinic - metabolism; Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; RNA, Messenger - biosynthesis; RNA, Messenger - genetics; Tetrazolium Salts; Thiazoles
• ISSN: 0197-0186
• DOI: 10.1016/j.neuint.2007.02.001

In order to reveal the neuroprotective effects of statins that could be of interest for the prevention and treatment of Alzheimer's disease (AD), we investigated the expression of nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) detected by RT-PCR, the activity of acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and butyrylcholinesterase (BuChE) by colorimetric determination, and the levels of the alpha-form of secreted beta-amyloid precursor protein (alphaAPPs) by Western blotting in neuroblastoma (SH-SY5Y) cells exposed to lovastatin, atorvastatin, rosuvastatin and simvastatin, respectively. The results indicated that all statins studied, both lipophilic and hydrophilic, induced high expression of alpha7 nAChR, decreased cholinesterase activities, and increased alphaAPPs, which suggests that statins might play important neuroprotective roles in AD treatment.