Luteolin enhances cholinergic activities in PC12 cells through ERK1/2 and PI3K/Akt pathways

Luteolin, a 3', 4', 5, 7-tetrahydroxyflavone, is an active compound in Rosmarinus officinalis (Lamiacea), and has been reported to exert several benefits in neuronal cells. However cholinergic-induced activities of luteolin still remain unknown. Neuronal differentiation encompasses an elaborate developmental program which plays a key role in the development of the nervous system. The advent of several cell lines, like PC12 cells, able to differentiate in culture proved to be the turning point for gaining and understanding of molecular neuroscience. In this work, we investigated the ability of luteolin to induce PC12 cell differentiation and its effect on cholinergic activities. Our findings showed that luteolin treatment significantly induced neurite outgrowth extension, enhanced acetylcholinesterase (AChE) activity, known as neuronal differentiation marker, and increased the level of total choline and acetylcholine in PC12 cells. In addition, luteolin persistently, activated extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2 (ERK1/2) and Akt; while the addition of pharmacological MEK/ERK1/2 inhibitor (U0126) and PI3k/Akt inhibitor (LY294002) attenuated luteolin-induced AChE activity and neurite outgrowth in PC12 cells. The above findings suggest that luteolin induces neurite outgrowth and enhanced cholinergic activities, at least in part, through the activation of ERK1/2 and Akt signaling.