Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 23, 2026
Motor and Hippocampal Dependent Spatial Learning and Reference Memory Assessment in a Transgenic Rat Model of Alzheimer's Disease with Stroke
Published on: March 22, 2016
Biphasic effects of forskolin on tau phosphorylation and spatial memory in rats
Qing Tian1, Jun-Xia Zhang, Yao Zhang
1Department of Pathophysiology, Key Laboratory of Neurological Disease Education Ministry of China, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430030, Chin.a tts0001@yahoo.cn
Abstract:
To explore the role of protein kinase A (PKA) in regulating tau phosphorylation and spatial memory, we injected forskolin, an activator of PKA, at different concentrations into the rat brains. We found that forskolin at concentrations up to 80 microM enhanced tau phosphorylation and was associated with prominent spatial memory impairment. Higher concentrations of forskolin, up to 200 microM, were associated with reduced phosphorylation levels of tau and no memory deficits. Forskolin elevated cAMP and activated PKA in a dose-dependent manner. When infused at 200 microM, forskolin also resulted in the activation and overexpression of protein phosphatase-2A (PP-2A) and attenuated the okadaic acid-induced PP-2A inhibition. These data suggest that the upregulation of PKA by forskolin to a certain level may activate PP-2A but that the latter can ameliorate the PKA-induced tau phosphorylation and memory impairment in the rats.
