背景及研究目的：據報導薑黃素（curcumin）在阿爾茨海默癥（老年癡呆癥）的動物模型中表現出有效性。這可能與其能阻抑β 澱粉樣蛋白的聚集有關，而β 澱粉樣蛋白正是老年癡呆癥中達成共識的神經毒性物質。然而，薑黃素的水溶性很差，這一弱點直接限制其在作為口服藥物的生物利用度。羥丙基-β-環糊精是一種由七個單糖分子鍵合成的環狀分子，該環具有親水性的外部和疏水性的內部，這一特點使得疏水性藥物可以裝入環糊精分子內部從而提高該藥物的親水性，進而提高藥物的口服吸收率。 / 方法：包合物在50 攝氏度下，由摩爾比為1:2 的薑黃素和羥丙基-β-環糊精經過6 小時的攪拌而形成。其后对包合物的物化性質與相同摩爾比的薑黃素與羥丙基-β-環糊精的混合物的物化特性进行了对比以证实包合物的形成，诸如水溶性，掃描電鏡下的形態以及傅利葉紅外圖譜特性。接著用經包合物和普通薑黃素粉末喂食的SD 大鼠做藥代動力學研究，取出大鼠血樣然之後用高效液相色譜-質譜聯用法對薑黃素進行定量，計算出達峰時間（T{U+2098}{U+2090}{U+2093} ）， 峰濃度（C{U+2098}{U+2090}{U+2093} ）以及 0 到4 小時藥時曲綫下面積 （AUC₀→₄{U+2095} ）從而比較包合物較普通薑黃素是否有優越之處。之後，用Tg2576 轉基因小鼠做短期研究，此种小鼠能過度表達β 澱粉樣蛋白，是一種被廣泛應用于老年癡呆癥相關科研的動物模型，經過連續7 日的喂食之後，對小鼠的β 樣澱粉蛋白進行觀察。進一步，將用能同時過度表達β 樣澱粉蛋白與神經纖維結（NTFs）的Tau/APP 轉基因小鼠做長達兩月的藥效學實驗，在實驗始末配以关联恐惧调件反应测试（CFC）和八臂迷宮（Radial Arm Maze）來對實驗小鼠的記憶失進行定量分析。處死小鼠之後，對β 樣澱粉蛋白與神經纖維結（NTFs）進行定量分析從而確定包合物在藥效學上的優勢。 / 結果：在包合的過程中，大部份的薑黃素被整合到包合物之中。通過傅利葉紅外圖譜和掃描電鏡照片都可以觀察到包合物與混合物的顯著不同。在藥代動力學研究中，普通薑黃素粉末的達峰時間為22 分鐘左右，而包合物是40 分鐘，同時，經過包合，峰濃度也提高了3 倍左右，藥時曲綫下面積提高了2 倍以上。在用Tg2576 進行的為期一周的短期實驗中，觀察不到包合物和普通薑黃素在β 樣澱粉蛋白清除方面有明顯差別，然後通過體內染色卻可以看到經包合物喂食的小鼠腦切片中可以觀察到更多的來自薑黃素的螢光信號。在2 個月的長期實驗中，就关联恐惧调件反应测试和八臂迷宮實驗的結果來看，可以觀察到包合物有更好延遲TAPP 小鼠記憶失過程的趨勢但無顯著性，除此之外，對處死后的小鼠腦部進行分析，其β 澱粉樣蛋白與神經纖維節的含量分析結果也和行為測試具有一致性。 / 結論：用羥丙基-β-環糊精對薑黃素進行包合確實可以通過增加薑黃素的水溶性從而提高其生物利用度，讓更多的薑黃素通過血腦屏障進入大腦進而與β 澱粉樣蛋白進行結合。然後短期實驗無法表明包合物具有β 澱粉樣蛋白清除效應。而長期實驗中行為實驗和處死後大腦分析顯示出較普通薑黃素而言包合物具有有限的優點，如果要證明這一優點確實存在，可能需要更長時間的喂食與另外劑量。 / Background: Curcumin is reported to be an effective treatment in animal models of Alzheimer’s disease (AD), possibly by inhibiting aggregation of amyloid-β peptides, which can be neurotoxic.However, curcumin is poorly soluble in water, limiting its oral bioavailability. Hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin (HP-β-CD), a cyclic oligosaccharide made of seven sugar molecules bound togetherin a ring has a hydrophobic exterior and a hydrophobic interior, within which curcumin can reside, thus increasing the aqueous solubility of curcumin. This study aims to solve the problem of poor water-solubility of curcumin using HP-β-CD. / Method: The inclusion complexes were formed by stirring a suspension of curcumin and HP-β-CD at a molar ratio of 1:2 at 50°C for 6 hr. Physicochemical properties, including watersolubility,morphology under scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and the Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectrum, varied between the inclusion complex and a physical mixture of the two compounds. The inclusion complex and curcumin powder were fed to Sprague Dawley rats for pharmacokinetic studies, from which blood samples were analyzed using LC/MS/MS, and relevant parameters such as T{U+2098}{U+2090}{U+2093}, C{U+2098}{U+2090}{U+2093} and AUC₀→₄{U+2095} were calculated to study the effect of HP-β-CD on the bioavailability of curcumin. To evaluate the pharmacodynamic effects, Tg2576 mice, which over express amyloid-β, were treated for 7 consecutive days with curcumin powder or inclusion complexes. Further, to examine effects of long-term treatment, Tau/APP mice, a commonly used AD model producing both amyloid-β and mutant tau proteins, were treated for 2 months. Behavior tests were conducted at the beginning and end of the long-term treatment to quantify the memory loss of the mice, and post mortem analyses, including quantification of amyloid-β plaques and neurofibrillary tangles, were performed after sacrificing the mice. / Result: The majority of curcumin was integrated into complexes. FTIR profiles and SEM photographs of complexes displayed significant differences from the physical mixture. In the pharmacokinetic study, the concentration of curcumin in the control group peaked at around 22.5 min, while that of inclusion complexes peaked around 40 min. The maximum concentration of curcumin trebled and the area under the curve from 0 to 4 hours more than doubled. For shortterm treatment in Tg2576 mice, paraffin sections stained with Thioflavin T, a dye detecting amyloid-β plaques, showed no obvious difference between mice treated with curcumin powder or complexes; however brain sections from complex-treated mice had more fluorescence signal from curcumin than did mice treated with curcumin powder. For long-term treatment, in terms of the results of contextual fear conditioning and radial arm maze, there was a trend toward inclusion complexes delaying the memory loss of Tau/APP mice more effectively than curcumin powder. Compared to curcumin powder, complexes tended to reduce the number of plaques and neurofibrillary tangles. / Conclusion: Complexation with HP-β-CD can significantly enhance curcumin bioavailability by increasing its water-solubility, allowing more curcumin to penetrate the blood brain barrier to bind to amyloid-β plaques. However, short-term treatment showed no advantage of inclusion complexes in clearing amyloid-β plaques. The results of behavior tests and post-mortem studies from the 2-month long-term treatment indicated limited superiority of inclusion complexes over curcumin powder. A longer feeding period or altered dosage or both might be necessary to enhance the effect of curcumin inclusion complexes. / Detailed summary in vernacular field only. / Detailed summary in vernacular field only. / Detailed summary in vernacular field only. / Detailed summary in vernacular field only. / Liu, Hao. / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2012. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 104-117). / Abstracts also in Chinese. / Chapter Chapter 1 --- Introduction --- p.1 / Chapter 1.1 --- Overview of Alzheimer’s disease --- p.1 / Chapter 1.1.1 --- The pathological mechanisms of Alzheimer’s disease --- p.2 / Chapter 1.1.2 --- Anti-Alzheimer’s disease drugs --- p.3 / Chapter 1.2 --- Curcumin as a potential anti-AD agent --- p.5 / Chapter 1.2.1 --- Actions of curcumin on Aβ --- p.6 / Chapter 1.2.2 --- Anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant activities of curcumin in AD --- p.8 / Chapter 1.2.3 --- Activities of curcumin to combat metal toxicity --- p.9 / Chapter 1.3 --- The physicochemical properties of curcumin and limitations of curcumin in clinical usage --- p.12 / Chapter 1.4 --- Cyclodextrin in pharmaceutical usage --- p.18 / Chapter 1.5 --- Aims of the study --- p.23 / Chapter Chapter 2 --- Preparation and characterization of curcumin-HP-β-CD complexes --- p.24 / Chapter 2.1 --- Introduction --- p.24 / Chapter 2.2 --- Phase solubility study --- p.24 / Chapter 2.1.2 --- Preparation of solid complexes --- p.28 / Chapter 2.1.3 --- Characterization of solid complexes --- p.29 / Chapter 2.1.4 --- Previous work on the curcumin HP-β-CD inclusion complex --- p.31 / Chapter 2.2 --- Methodology --- p.33 / Chapter 2.2.1 --- Phase solubility test --- p.33 / Chapter 2.2.2 --- Preparation of curcumin-CD complexes --- p.33 / Chapter 2.2.3 --- Recovery --- p.35 / Chapter 2.2.4 --- Differential solubility --- p.36 / Chapter 2.2.5 --- SEM Studies --- p.37 / Chapter 2.2.6 --- Infrared --- p.37 / Chapter 2.3 --- Results and discussion --- p.38 / Chapter 2.3.1 --- Phase solubility analysis --- p.38 / Chapter 2.3.2 --- Recovery test --- p.40 / Chapter 2.3.3 --- Differential solubility --- p.42 / Chapter 2.3.4 --- SEM study --- p.44 / Chapter 2.3.5 --- Infrared study --- p.45 / Chapter Chapter 3 --- Staining of amyloid plaques in Tg2576 mice after oral administration of curcumin-HP-β-cyclodextrin inclusion complex --- p.47 / Chapter 3.1 --- Introduction --- p.47 / Chapter 3.2 --- In vitro staining of amyloid plaques by thioflavin T and curcumin --- p.49 / Chapter 3.2.1 --- Thioflavin T and curcumin specifically binding to amyloid plaques --- p.49 / Chapter 3.2.2 --- Chemicals --- p.51 / Chapter 3.2.3 --- Method --- p.51 / Chapter 3.3 --- In vivo staining of amyloid plaques after oral administration of curcumin-HP-β-CD inclusion complex --- p.53 / Chapter 3.3.1 --- Animal treatment --- p.53 / Chapter 3.3.2 --- Method --- p.54 / Chapter 3.4 --- Results and discussion --- p.56 / Chapter 3.4.1 --- In vitro staining of amyloid plaques by thioflavin T and curcumin --- p.56 / Chapter 3.4.2 --- In vivo staining of amyloid plaques by curcumin --- p.57 / Chapter 3.4.3 --- Plaque removal effects after short-term feeding --- p.58 / Chapter Chapter 4 --- Pharmacokinetic study of curcumin in Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats after oral administration of curcumin-HP-β-cyclodextrin inclusion complex --- p.61 / Chapter 4.1 --- Introduction --- p.61 / Chapter 4.1.1 --- Previous pharmacokinetic study of curcumin-HP-β-CD inclusion complex --- p.61 / Chapter 4.1.2 --- Previously established LC/MS/MS methods for quantification of curcumin in SD rat plasma sample --- p.62 / Chapter 4.2 --- Development and validation of LC/MS/MS assay --- p.63 / Chapter 4.2.1 --- Chemicals --- p.63 / Chapter 4.2.2 --- Instrumentation and chromatographic conditions --- p.63 / Chapter 4.2.3 --- Preparation of standard solutions --- p.63 / Chapter 4.2.5 --- Validation of the assay method --- p.64 / Chapter 4.3 --- Pharmacokinetic profile of curcumin in SD rats --- p.65 / Chapter 4.3.1 --- Animals --- p.65 / Chapter 4.3.2 --- Animal treatment and blood sampling --- p.65 / Chapter 4.3.3 --- Plasma sample analysis --- p.65 / Chapter 4.3.4 --- Data analysis --- p.66 / Chapter 4.4 --- Result and discussion --- p.67 / Chapter 4.4.1 --- Mass spectrum --- p.67 / Chapter 4.4.2 --- Chromatography and specificity --- p.69 / Chapter 4.4.3 --- Linearity and sensitivity --- p.71 / Chapter 4.4.4 --- Method validation---Precision and accuracy --- p.71 / Chapter 4.4.5 --- Method validation---Liquid-liquid extraction recovery --- p.72 / Chapter 4.4.6 --- Pharmacokinetics parameters --- p.73 / Chapter Chapter 5 --- Long-term effects of curcumin-HP-β-CD inclusion complex on Alzheimer’s disease model mice --- p.79 / Chapter 5.1 --- Introduction --- p.79 / Chapter 5.1.1 --- Tau/APP trangenic mouse --- p.79 / Chapter 5.1.2 --- Memory --- p.80 / Chapter 5.1.3 --- The role of the hippocampus in memory --- p.81 / Chapter 5.1.4 --- Memory task contextual fear conditioning (CFC) --- p.82 / Chapter 5.1.5 --- Memory task radial arm maze (RAM) --- p.83 / Chapter 5.2 --- Methods --- p.85 / Chapter 5.2.1 --- Animal treatment --- p.85 / Chapter 5.2.2 --- Contextual fear conditioning test --- p.85 / Chapter 5.2.3 --- Radial arm maze test --- p.87 / Chapter 5.2.4 --- Post-mortem analysis amyloid plaque removal effects of the curcumin-HP-β-CD inclusion complex --- p.88 / Chapter 5.2.5 --- Post-mortem analysis neurofibrillary tangle removal effects of the curcumin-HP-β-CD inclusion complex --- p.90 / Chapter 5.3 --- Results and discussion --- p.92 / Chapter 5.3.1 --- Mortality of the mice --- p.92 / Chapter 5.3.2 --- Contextual fear conditioning test --- p.93 / Chapter 5.3.3 --- Radial arm maze (RAM) test --- p.95 / Chapter 5.3.4 --- Post-mortem analysis amyloid plaque removal effects of the curcumin-HP-β-CD inclusion complex --- p.97 / Chapter 5.3.5 --- Post-mortem analysis neurofibrillary tangle removal effects of the curcumin-HP-β-CD inclusion complex --- p.99 / Chapter Chapter 6 --- Conclusions and future perspective --- p.100 / Chapter 6.1 --- Conclusions --- p.101 / Chapter 6.2 --- Future perspective --- p.103 / References --- p.104

Cheung, Kwok Kuen. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2011. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 226-263). / Electronic reproduction. Hong Kong : Chinese University of Hong Kong, [2012] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Abstract also in Chinese.

published_or_final_version / Anatomy / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

Qian, Shuai. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2013. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 265-294). / Electronic reproduction. Hong Kong : Chinese University of Hong Kong, [2012] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Abstract also in Chinese.

Hoi, Chu Peng. / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2007. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 81-103). / Abstracts in English and Chinese. / Acknowledgements --- p.II / Abstract --- p.III / Abstract (in Chinese) --- p.V / List of Abbreviations --- p.VI / List of Figures --- p.VIII / List of Tables --- p.X / Table of Contents --- p.XI / Chapter Chapter One --- General introduction --- p.1 / Chapter 1.1 --- Alzheimer's disease --- p.1 / Chapter 1.1.1 --- Epidemiology and risk factors --- p.2 / Chapter 1.1.2 --- Clinical manifestation and course --- p.4 / Chapter 1.1.3 --- Clinical diagnosis --- p.5 / Chapter 1.1.4 --- Neuropathology and pathogenesis of AD --- p.8 / Chapter 1.1.5 --- Drug therapy of AD --- p.11 / Chapter 1.1.5.1 --- Drugs for symptomatic treatment --- p.11 / Chapter 1.1.5.2 --- Drugs based on epidemiology --- p.12 / Chapter 1.1.5.3 --- Drugs with potential disease-modifying effects --- p.14 / Chapter 1.1.5.4 --- Herbal supplements --- p.15 / Chapter 1.2 --- Models for drug discovery in Alzheimer Disease --- p.15 / Chapter 1.2.1 --- In vivo (animal) models --- p.16 / Chapter 1.2.2 --- In vitro (cellular) models --- p.18 / Chapter 1.3 --- Chinese herbs for the treatment of AD --- p.20 / Chapter 1.3.1 --- Ginkgo biloba L --- p.21 / Chapter 1.3.2 --- Magnolia officinalis --- p.24 / Chapter 1.3.3 --- Acori graminei Rhizoma (AGR) --- p.26 / Chapter 1.3.4 --- Gastrodia elata (G. elata) --- p.27 / Chapter 1.3.5 --- Rhodiola rosea L.( R. rosea) --- p.29 / Chapter 1.3.6 --- Scutellariae baicalensis --- p.30 / Chapter 1.3.7 --- Curcuma longa L.(Zingiberaceae) --- p.31 / Chapter 1.4 --- Aims of the study --- p.33 / Chapter Chapter Two --- Materials and Methods --- p.34 / Chapter 2.1 --- Materials --- p.34 / Chapter 2.1.1 --- Chemicals and reagents --- p.34 / Chapter 2.1.2 --- Materials for cell culture --- p.35 / Chapter 2.1.3 --- Instruments --- p.35 / Chapter 2.2 --- Methods --- p.36 / Chapter 2.2.1 --- Cell culture --- p.36 / Chapter 2.2.2 --- MTT cell viability assay --- p.38 / Chapter 2.2.3 --- Characterization of the cytotoxicity of Aβ peptide in NGF-differentiated PC 12 cells --- p.38 / Chapter 2.2.4 --- Screening of the neuroprotective effect of major principles from selected herbs on PC 12 cells against Aβ-induced cytotoxicity --- p.39 / Chapter 2.2.5 --- Measurement of reactive oxygen species (ROS) --- p.40 / Chapter 2.2.6 --- Measurement of intracellular calcium levels --- p.41 / Chapter 2.2.7 --- Measurement of caspase-3 activity --- p.42 / Chapter 2.2.8 --- Propidium iodide (PI) staining to evaluate apoptosis and necrosis --- p.43 / Chapter 2.3 --- Statistics --- p.45 / Chapter Chapter Three --- Results --- p.46 / Chapter 3.1 --- NGF-differentiated PC 12 cells --- p.46 / Chapter 3.1.1 --- Determination of an appropriate cell density for the screening experiments --- p.46 / Chapter 3.1.2 --- Characterization of Aβ-induced cytotoxicity in NGF-differentiated PC 12 cells --- p.47 / Chapter 3.1.2.1 --- Cytotoxicity of Aβ-related fragments in NGF-differentiated PC 12 cells --- p.48 / Chapter 3.1.2.2 --- Dose-dependent cytotoxic effect of Aβ on PC 12 cells --- p.48 / Chapter 3.1.2.3 --- Time-dependent effect of Aβ-induced toxicity on PC12 cells --- p.50 / Chapter 3.1.3 --- Protective effect of selected active principles against Aβ1-4-induced toxicity in PC 12 cells --- p.51 / Chapter 3.2 --- Measurement of reactive oxygen species (ROS) --- p.54 / Chapter 3.2.1 --- Measurement of ROS induced by H202 --- p.54 / Chapter 3.2.2 --- Measurement of ROS induced by Aβ --- p.56 / Chapter 3.3 --- Measurement of Intracellular calcium levels --- p.57 / Chapter 3.4 --- Measurement of caspase-3 activity --- p.58 / Chapter 3.4.1 --- AMC reference standard curve --- p.59 / Chapter 3.4.2 --- Measurement of caspase-3 activity --- p.59 / Chapter 3.5 --- PI staining for evaluate apoptosis and necrosis --- p.60 / Chapter Chapter Four --- Discussion --- p.64 / Chapter 4.1 --- Aβ-induced cytotoxicity in NGF-differentiated PC 12 cells as an in vitro model of Alzheimer's disease --- p.64 / Chapter 4.1.1 --- Cell line selection --- p.65 / Chapter 4.1.2 --- Characterization of Aβ-induced cytotoxicity in NGF-differentiated PC 12 cells --- p.66 / Chapter 4.2 --- Screening of the neuroprotective effects of selected active principles against Aβ-induced cytotoxicity in NGF-differentiated PC 12 cells --- p.67 / Chapter 4.3 --- Neuroprotection via inhibition of the ROS generation --- p.71 / Chapter 4.4 --- Neuroprotection via suppression of calcium homeostasis --- p.73 / Chapter 4.5 --- Neuroprotective via inhibition of Aβ-induced apoptosis --- p.75 / Chapter 4.5.1 --- Inhibition of caspase-3 activation --- p.75 / Chapter 4.5.2 --- PI staining for evaluation of apoptosis and necrosis --- p.76 / Chapter Chapter Five --- Conclusion and future work --- p.79 / Chapter 5.1 --- Conclusion --- p.79 / Chapter 5.2 --- Future work --- p.80 / References --- p.81

by Wong Kin Kwan Kelvin. / Thesis submitted in: September 2004. / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 91-101). / Abstracts in English and Chinese. / Acknowledgements --- p.i / Abstract --- p.ii / 摘要 --- p.iv / Abbreviations --- p.x / List of Figures --- p.xiii / List of Tables --- p.xiv / Chapter Chapter 1 --- Intorduction --- p.1 / Chapter 1.1 --- Alzheimer，s disease --- p.1 / Chapter 1.2 --- Histopathological features --- p.1 / Chapter 1.3 --- Tau protein pathology and AD --- p.4 / Chapter 1.4 --- Tau protein kinase I (TPKI)- GSK-3β --- p.6 / Chapter 1.5 --- Tau protein kinase II (TPKII)- Cyclin dependent kinase 5 (Cdk5) --- p.8 / Chapter 1.6 --- Available treatment --- p.9 / Chapter 1.7 --- Objectives of the present study --- p.12 / Chapter Chapter 2 --- Screening for GSK-3p inhibitors from Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) --- p.13 / Chapter 2.1 --- Introduction --- p.13 / Chapter 2.1.1 --- Phosphorylation of tau in AD --- p.13 / Chapter 2.1.2 --- Gsk-3p inhibitors --- p.14 / Chapter 2.1.3 --- Screening of GSK-3β inhibitor from TCM --- p.16 / Chapter 2.2 --- Material and Methods --- p.18 / Chapter 2.2.1 --- Preparation of extracts and fractions (AOF1-5) --- p.18 / Chapter 2.2.2 --- General cell culture techniques --- p.21 / Chapter 2.2.3 --- "3-(4,5-dimethyltiazoI-2-yl)-2, 5-diphenyl-tetrazolium (MTT) assay of AOF" --- p.23 / Chapter 2.2.4 --- Recombinant DNA techniques --- p.23 / Chapter 2.2.5 --- Transfection of GSK-3β and tau cDNA into COS7 cells --- p.28 / Chapter 2.2.6 --- Extraction of total proteins from culture cells --- p.28 / Chapter 2.2.7 --- Quantitation of protein by the Bradford method --- p.29 / Chapter 2.2.8 --- Protein separation by sodium dodecylsulphate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) --- p.29 / Chapter 2.2.9 --- Western blot analysis --- p.31 / Chapter 2.2.10 --- GSK-3β kinase assay --- p.32 / Chapter 2.2.11 --- Determination of lithium content by atomic adsorption spectrophotometry --- p.34 / Chapter 2.3 --- Results --- p.35 / Chapter 2.3.1 --- Establishment of a co-transfected cell model for GSK-3β induced tau hyperphosphorylation --- p.35 / Chapter 2.3.2 --- Preliminary screening results of aqueous and ethanol extracts (AOF1 and AOF2) --- p.37 / Chapter 2.3.3 --- Ethanol extract of AOF inhibits GSK-3p induced tau phosphorylation in COS-7 cells --- p.40 / Chapter 2.3.5 --- Effect of the essential oils of AOF on GSK-3P induced tau phosphorylation --- p.46 / Chapter 2.3.6 --- The effect of AOF essential oil on GSK-3P activity in COS7 --- p.50 / Chapter 2.3.7 --- Lithium content of AOF extracts --- p.52 / Chapter 2.4 --- Discussion --- p.54 / Chapter Chapter 4 --- Evaluation of the in vivo efficacy of cryptotenshinone (CT) in Morris Water Maze Task (WMT) --- p.59 / Chapter 4.1 --- Introduction --- p.59 / Chapter 4.1.1 --- Involvement of Cholinergic system in cognitive dysfunction in AD --- p.59 / Chapter 4.1.2 --- Animal model for Alzheimer's disease --- p.60 / Chapter 4.1.3 --- Morris Watermaze Task (WMT) --- p.61 / Chapter 4.2 --- MATERIAL AND METHODS --- p.64 / Chapter 4.2.1 --- Morris Water maze setup --- p.64 / Chapter 4.2.2 --- Animal model --- p.66 / Chapter 4.2.3 --- Drug preparation --- p.67 / Chapter 4.2.4 --- Toxicity test of CT --- p.67 / Chapter 4.2.5 --- Water maze task (WMT) --- p.68 / Chapter 4.2.6 --- Visual acuity test --- p.73 / Chapter 4.3 --- RESULTS --- p.74 / Chapter 4.3.1 --- Chronic crytotanshinone treatment does not cause hepatic damages to the mice --- p.74 / Chapter 4.3.2 --- Training Session --- p.76 / Chapter 4.4 --- DISCUSSION --- p.85 / Chapter Chapter 5 --- General Discussion and Future Directions --- p.87 / Chapter 5.1 --- "AOF, the potential GSK-3 inhibitor" --- p.87 / Chapter 5.2 --- CT´ؤthe AChEI --- p.88 / References --- p.91 / Appendix --- p.102 / Chapter A1 --- Reagents for SDS-PAGE --- p.103 / Chapter A3 --- Solution components provided by QIAGEN Plasmid Maxipreps kit --- p.108 / Chapter A4 --- Reagents and medium for cell culture --- p.109 / Chapter A5 --- Reagents for kinase assay --- p.110 / Chapter A6 --- Raw data of figures --- p.112 / Chapter A7 --- Plasmid map of PCI-neo --- p.119

Alzheimer's disease (AD) accounts for around two thirds of all dementia cases and an increase in life expectancy of the population has resulted in a substantial increase in dementia cases and with that a rise in AD. AD is a debilitating and ultimately fatal neurodegenerative disorder of the elderly, and despite being identified over a century ago, the current treatments do not treat the underlying causes behind the disease, instead they help to mask the symptoms of the disease and prolong the brain's remaining function. It is therefore vital that an effective, disease modifying treatment for this disease is established as soon as possible. Soluble intracellular forms of amyloid β (peptide Aβ), a hallmark of AD have been identified and intracellular targets of Aβ are being investigated as potential drug targets for the disease. Two key intracellular, mitochondrial proteins investigated as potential drug targets: amyloid binding alcohol dehydrogenase (ABAD) and cyclophilin D (CypD) are the focus of the work reported in this thesis. To begin identifying potential inhibitors of the ABAD-Aβ interaction, a two-pronged approach was taken. Firstly, a series of analogues based on a known inhibitor of the interaction were tested using a variety of biophysical assays, for their therapeutic affect on the interaction, and secondly a fragment based screening approach was used to identify new small molecule binding partners of ABAD which could potentially be modified to produced inhibitors of the ABAD-Aβ interaction. Three different CypD constructs have been successfully expressed and purified, and taken into crystal trials. It is hoped that these constructs can be used to significantly aid the progress of identifying any potential inhibitors and binding partners of CypD that may produce therapeutic effects, and in the future could lead to the identification of an effective disease modifying drug in the treatment of AD. The work reported in this thesis has built upon previously reported findings and the groundwork has also been established for several in vitro biophysical assays, these include for example: measuring ABAD enzyme activity, and the novel morphology specific Aβ aggregation assay, which can be used as screening tools to help identify potential inhibitors of these interactions. Both the ABAD-Aβ interaction, and the blockade of CypD are known to be drug targets in the treatment of AD, and by elucidating the molecular mechanisms behind these interactions, through implementing biophysical assays, this will help in the identification and design of potential new therapeutic agents for the treatment of AD.