Monoamine oxidase inhibitors contribute to the treatment of Alzheimer's disease

Abstract

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common neurodegenerative disease, characterized by progressive memory loss and cognitive dysfunction. MAO inhibitors (MAOIs) are the main antagonists of MAO activity. At present, accumulated studies have shown that MAOIs can cause a significant increase in monoamines in the body, such as dopamine and serotonin, and the effects of these transmitters will be significantly enhanced, which can be used in the treatment of depression and Parkinson’s disease. However, the mechanism of action of MAOIs on AD treatment needs to be further elucidated. In this study, we constructed AD animal models and cell models in vivo and in vitro to explore the role of MAOIs in the treatment of AD. We found that MAOIs can improve the cognitive impairment of AD model mice, reduce the number of apoptotic cells in the hippocampus and cortex of the brain and HT22 cells, and increase the proliferation level of HT22 cells. In addition, after treatment with MAOIs, the number of Nissl bodies in AD mice increased significantly, while amyloid plaques decreased significantly. We further found that MAOIs can reduce the expression of MAO-A, MAO-B, Aβ40 and p-Tau in mouse brain and HT22 cells, and increase the expression of 5-HT. In summary, we believe that MAOIs also have positive significance in the