@Article{biocell.2021.015090,
AUTHOR = {NARAYANAN NAMPOOTHIRI V. P., VIGNESH SUNDARARAJAN, PALLAVI DAN, G. DEVANAND VENKATASUBBU, SAHABUDEEN SHEIK MOHIDEEN},
TITLE = {Thymoquinone as a potential therapeutic for Alzheimer’s disease in transgenic <i>Drosophila melanogaster</i> model},
JOURNAL = {BIOCELL},
VOLUME = {45},
YEAR = {2021},
NUMBER = {5},
PAGES = {1251--1262},
URL = {http://www.techscience.com/biocell/v45n5/43079},
ISSN = {1667-5746},
ABSTRACT = {Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is one of the most common forms of dementia. Cognitive dysfunction and memory loss are
the two main clinical symptoms of AD. <i>Drosophila melanogaster</i> models of AD, which are based on overexpression of human
amyloid β (Aβ) or human tau (hTau) protein, have been used to study the mechanism underlying AD and to screen potential
therapeutic compounds. Drugs that are currently available for AD provide only symptomatic relief. Huge unmet medical needs
exists to slow, stop, or reverse the progression of AD. Thymoquinone (TQ) is an active ingredient isolated from <i>Nigella sativa</i>
(NS) and possesses various pharmacological activities, and it is also a potential neuropharmacological agent. The current study
was performed to investigate the effect of dietary administration of TQ at concentrations of 12.5 μM and 25 μM for 15 and 30
days on biochemical and behavioral parameters, gene, and protein expression of hTau, using <i>Drosophila</i> models of AD.
Transgenic <i>Drosophila</i> models exhibiting pan-neuronal and eye-specific expression of hTau were generated using the
GAL4/UAS system. Treatment with TQ at both concentrations resulted in a significant increase in behavioral activity, a
significant reduction in the amount of reactive oxygen species (ROS), and restoration of depleted superoxide dismutase
(SOD) and acetylcholine esterase (AChE) activities. A significant decrease in gene and protein expression of hTau was also
observed at the molecular level for both concentrations of TQ. Therefore, TQ has the potential to be investigated as a
potential therapeutic phytochemical for the treatment of AD in future studies.},
DOI = {10.32604/biocell.2021.015090}
}