Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most prevalent age‑related
neurodegenerative disorder. It is featured by the progressive accumulation of β‑amyloid (Aβ) plaques and neurofibrillary tangles. This can eventually lead to a decrease of cholinergic neurons in the basal forebrain.
Stem cell transplantation is an effective treatment for
neurodegenerative diseases. Previous studies have revealed that different types of stem or progenitor cells can mitigate cognition impairment in different
Alzheimer's disease mouse models. However, understanding the underlying mechanisms of neural stem cell (NSC)
therapies for AD requires further investigation. In the present study, the effects and the underlying mechanisms of the treatment of AD by NSCs are reported. The latter were labelled with the
enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) prior to implantation into the bilateral hippocampus of an
amyloid precursor
protein (APP)/
presenilin 1 (PS1) transgenic (Tg) mouse model of AD. It was observed that the number of basal forebrain cholinergic neurons was restored and the expression of
choline acetyltransferase (ChAT)
protein was increased. Moreover, the levels of
synaptophysin (SYP),
postsynaptic density protein 95 (PSD‑95) and microtubule‑associated
protein (MAP‑2) were significantly increased in the hippocampus of NSC‑treated AD mice. Notably, spatial learning and memory were both improved after
transplantation of NSCs. In conclusion, the present study revealed that NSC
transplantation improved learning and memory functions in an AD mouse model. This treatment allowed repairing of basal forebrain cholinergic neurons and increased the expression of the cognition‑related
proteins SYP, PSD‑95 and MAP‑2 in the hippocampus.