A pilot study on the effect of lactoferrin on Alzheimer’s disease pathological sequelae: Impact of the p-Akt/PTEN pathway

Biomedicine & Pharmacotherapy

Mona F. Schaalan¹  Waleed A. Mohamed²  Rania M. Salama³ 

[1] Corresponding author at: Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Misr International University, KM 28, Cairo-Ismailia road (Ahmed Orabi District), Cairo, Egypt.;Chemistry Department, Cairo University Hospital, Cairo, Egypt;Pharmacology and Toxicology Department, Translational and Clinical Research Unit, Faculty of Pharmacy, Misr International University (MIU), Cairo, Egypt;

关键词: Alzheimer’s disease;    Neurodegeneration;    PI3K/Akt;    PTEN;    Lactoferrin;   

DOI  :  

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is one of the most common neurodegenerative diseases in which the phosphatidylinositol-4,5-bisphosphate 3-kinase (PI3K)/protein kinase B (PKB or Akt) pathway is deregulated in response to phosphatase and tensin homolog (PTEN) overexpression. Lactoferrin (LF), a multifunctional iron-binding glycoprotein, is involved in AD pathology; however, direct evidence of its impact upon AD remains unclear. To elucidate LF’s role in AD, the possible protective mechanism post-LF administration for 3 months was investigated in AD patients by observing changes in the p-Akt/PTEN pathway. AD patients showed decreased serum acetylcholine (ACh), serotonin (5-HT), antioxidant and anti-inflammatory markers, and decreased expression of Akt in peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBL), as well as PI3K, and p-Akt levels in PBL lysate; all these parameters were significantly improved after daily LF administration for 3 months. Similarly, elevated serum amyloid β (Aβ) 42, cholesterol, oxidative stress markers, IL-6, heat shock protein (HSP) 90, caspase-3, and p-tau, as well as increased expression of tau, MAPK1 and PTEN in AD patients, were significantly reduced upon LF intake. Improvement in the aforementioned AD surrogate markers post-LF treatment was reflected in enhanced cognitive function assessed by the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) and Alzheimer's Disease Assessment Scale-Cognitive Subscale 11-item (ADAS-COG 11) questionnaires as clinical endpoints. These results provide a basis for a possible protective mechanism of LF in AD through its ability to alleviate the AD pathological cascade and cognitive decline via modulation of the p-Akt/PTEN pathway, which affects the key players of inflammation and oxidative stress that are involved in AD pathology.

【 授权许可】

Unknown