Research - Huntington's Disease
The Ginkgo biloba Extract EGb 761 Modulates Proteasome Activity and Polyglutamine Protein Aggregation
Marcel Stark and Christian Behl
Institute for Pathobiochemistry, University Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg University, Duesbergweg 6, 55099 Mainz, Germany
Abstract
The standardized Ginkgo biloba extract EGb 761 has well-described antioxidative activities and effects on different cytoprotective signaling pathways. Consequently, a potential use of EGb 761 in neurodegenerative diseases has been proposed. A common characteristic feature of a variety of such disorders is the pathologic formation of protein aggregates, suggesting a crucial role for protein homeostasis. In this study, we show that EGb 761 increased the catalytic activity of the proteasome and enhanced protein degradation in cultured cells. We further investigated this effect in a cellular model of Huntington’s disease (HD) by employing cells expressing pathologic variants of a polyglutamine protein (polyQ protein). We show that EGb 761 affected these cells by (i) increasing proteasome activity and (ii) inducing a more efficient degradation of aggregation-prone proteins. These results demonstrate a novel activity of EGb 761 on protein aggregates by enhancing proteasomal protein degradation, suggesting a therapeutic use in neurodegenerative disorders with a disturbed protein homeostasis.
....It was shown that in Alzheimer's Disease the treatment with EGb 761 provides protective effects through a combination of antioxidative [5], free radical scavenging [6], antiamyloidogenic [7], and antiapoptotic properties [8].
Source : Evidence Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine
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