Turmeric and curcumin suppress presenilin 1 protein expression in Jurkat cells

Abstract

In the present study, we aimed to determine the effects of herbs or spices on the expression of presenilin 1, a molecule involved in γ-secretase activity and the generation of amyloid-β peptide in Alzheimer's disease. Western blot analysis revealed that presenilin 1 protein expression was down-regulated by stimulation with turmeric or cinnamon extracts in vitro, while the effects on presenilin 1 gene expression examined by reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction were unaltered. Our results showed that curcumin, a component of turmeric, induced the down-regulation of presenilin 1 protein in Jurkat and K562 cell lines.