Abstract: Objective To investigate the effect of pyrroloquinoline quinone(PQQ) on the aging of rat hippocampal neurons induced by D-galactose(D-gal).Methods Hippocampal neurons were cultured in vitro.The aging of the hippocampal neurons was induced by high dose D-gal,PQQ protection were used 30 min before D-gal.The metamorphosis of hippocampal neurons was observed under the microscope.The contents of free radical was measured.The incidence of apoptosis of hippocampus cells was tested with the flow cytometry.The expression of Bax was detected with immunohistochemical staining.Results After the cells cultured in vitro exposed to D-gal,the content of free radical and the expression of Bax of the hippocampal neurons increased.After pretreatment of the cultured neurons with PQQ,the contents of free radical and the expression of Bax decreased,the survival of hippocampal neurons increased.Conclusion PQQ may slow the aging progress of hippocamal neurons induced by D-gal.

Key words: pyrroloquinoline quinone(PQQ), Hippocampus, neurons, Aging, D-galactose(D-gal), rats