Curcumin Decreases Hyperphosphorylation of Tau by Down-Regulating Caveolin-1/GSK-3β in N2a/APP695swe Cells and APP/PS1 Double Transgenic Alzheimer’s Disease Mice

Caveolin-1, the marker protein of membranal caveolae, is not only involved in cholesterol regulation, but also participates in the cleavage of amyloid [Formula: see text]-protein precursor (APP) and the generation of [Formula: see text]-amyloid peptide. It has been reported to be tightly related with Tau. In our previous studies, curcumin has been confirmed to play a neuroprotective role in Alzheimer’s disease (AD), but its effects on Caveolin-1, Tau and their correlation, and the mechanism is still unknown. As such, in the present study, N2a/WT cells, N2a/APP695swe cell and six-month-old APP/PS1 double transgenic mice were enrolled. After curcumin treatment, the expression of Caveolin-1, Tau and their relationship was detected, and the potential mechanisms were explored. The results showed that in the N2a/APP695swe cells, curcumin not only decreased the number of caveolae, but also made their membrane to be thinner; and curcumin could decreased the expression of phosphorylated Tau (P-Tau(ser404)/Tau) and Caveolin-1 ([Formula: see text]), but the expression of phosphorylated GSK-3[Formula: see text] (P-GSK-3[Formula: see text]/GSK-3[Formula: see text] was increased ([Formula: see text]). In APP/PS1 transgenic mice, the same results were observed. Taken together, our data suggest that curcumin may play an important role in AD via reducing Caveolin-1, inactivating GSK-3[Formula: see text] and inhibiting the abnormal excessive phosphorylation of Tau, which will provide a new theory for AD treatment with curcumin.