Affiliations: Department of Chemistry and Biotechnology, Tallinn University of Technology, Tallinn, Estonia
Correspondence:
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Correspondence to: Jekaterina Krishtal, Department of Chemistry and Biotechnology, Tallinn University of Technology, Akadeemia tee 15, Tallinn 12816, Tallinn, Estonia. Tel.: +372 620 4411; E-mail: [email protected].
Abstract: Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a currently incurable neurodegenerative disorder being the major form of dementia worldwide. AD pathology is initiated by cerebral aggregation of amyloid-β (Aβ) peptides in the form of amyloid plaques; however, the mechanism how Aβ peptide aggregates participate in the disease progression and neurodegeneration is still under debate. Human neuroblastoma cell line SH-SY5Y is a convenient cellular model, which is widely used in biochemical and toxicological studies of neurodegenerative diseases. This model can be further improved by differentiation of the cells toward more neuron-like culture using different protocols. In the current study, dbcAMP, retinoic acid with TPA, or BDNF were used for differentiation of SH-SY5Y cells, and the resulting cultures were tested for the toxicity toward the Aβ42 peptide. The toxicity of Aβ42 peptide depended on the type of differentiated cells: RA and TPA- differentiated cells were most resistant, whereas dbcAMP and RA/BDNF- differentiated cells were more sensitive to Aβ toxicity as compared with non-differentiated cells. The differentiated cultures provide more appropriate cellular models of human origin that can be used for studies of the mechanism of Aβ pathogenesis and for a screening of compounds antagonistic to the toxicity of Aβ peptides.
