Masters Degrees (Physiological Sciences)

Permanent URI for this collection

https://scholar.sun.ac.za/handle/10019.1/3772

Browse

Browsing Masters Degrees (Physiological Sciences) by Subject "Alzheimer's disease -- Alternative treatment"

Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    The role of Gingko biloba extract on autophagy modulation, protein clearance and neuronal cell death in an in vitro model of Alzheimer's disease
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2019-03) Khoza, Akile; Loos, Benjamin; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Science. Dept. of Physiological Sciences.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Introduction: Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a complex neurological disease, characterized by two protein aggregate forms, namely extracellular amyloid-beta (Aβ) plaques and intracellular neurofibrillary tangles of tau protein. AD is the most common type of progressive dementia and is currently poorly treated, which is associated with poor clinical outcomes. Although significant insight has been gained regarding AD pathology, limited progress has been made in the development of pharmaceutical therapeutics that modify or reverse the debilitating effects of this disease. Autophagy is a vital process involved in cellular survival, as it is essential for organelle and long-lived protein turnover. As such, it is widely accepted that autophagy impairment is a major contributing factor in the development of AD. Gingko biloba (GB) and lithium chloride (LiCl) have been reported to be neuroprotective in the context of neurodegenerative diseases. Even though some countries readily prescribe GB and LiCl to individuals suffering from AD, their mechanism of action, their potency in enhancing autophagy and their ability to clear toxic protein aggregates remains largely unclear. We hypothesized that treatment with GB will exhibit a concentration dependent effect on autophagic activity, and this effect will be further enhanced through combination treatment with LiCl. This effect may then translate in the distinct removal of amyloid precursor protein (APP) and Aβ, preserving lysosomal function and mitochondrial integrity. The aim of the proposed study was therefore to investigate the effect of both GB and LiCl as a single or combination treatment intervention on the modulation of autophagy activity, and the mitigation of Aβ proteotoxicity in an in vitro model of AD.