The role of MAPK signaling pathway in selenium amelioration of high fat/high cholesterol diet-induced tauopathy in rats.

BACKGROUND: MAP kinases, CREB, and Tau are signaling molecules among downstream synaptic targets involved in synaptic function, memory formation and cognition. PURPOSE: Here we investigate the neuro-protective effect of selenium in HFHCD induced tauopathy and cognitive impairment in rats. The study was focused on the effects on synaptic plasticity related molecules in hippocampus, which in turn may be the mechanism responsible for underlying behavior alterations. METHOD: Rats were divided into 2 main groups: one fed with normal rat chow diet and the other with HFHCD for 6 weeks. Every group was subdivided into three subgroups, non-treated, low dose Se (200 µg/kg) and high dose Se (400 µg/kg). The cognitive behaviors of the rats were tested using the Morris Water Maze test, hole board and conditioned avoidance tests. RESULTS: Daily administration of Se decreased the observed memory impairment induced by HFHCD as measured by behavioral tests. It significantly alleviated oxidative stress and restored protein expression of cyclic AMP response element protein (CREB) and brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and reduced p-Tau in the hippocampus. CONCLUSION: Se reversed HFHCD-induced cognitive impairments via decrease expression of p38 MAPK that phosphorylate and aggregate Tau protein. Addition, It  restored neuronal plasticity through increasing the expression of BDNF, and CREB in the hippocampus; thus, it can be considered as a possible beneficial therapeutic approach for prevention and treatment of HFHCD induced tauopathy and cognitive impairment, further studies are warranted in this field.

Impact of nutrition on inflammation, tauopathy, and behavioral outcomes from chronic traumatic encephalopathy.

BACKGROUND: Repetitive mild traumatic brain injuries (rmTBI) are associated with cognitive deficits, inflammation, and stress-related events. We tested the effect of nutrient intake on the impact of rmTBI in an animal model of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) to study the pathophysiological mechanisms underlying this model. We used a between group design rmTBI closed head injuries in mice, compared to a control and nutrient-treated groups. METHODS: Our model allows for controlled, repetitive closed head impacts to mice. Briefly, 24-week-old mice were divided into five groups: control, rmTBI, and rmTBI with nutrients (2% of NF-216, NF-316 and NF-416). rmTBI mice received four concussive impacts over 7 days. Mice were treated with NutriFusion diets for 2 months prior to the rmTBI and until euthanasia (6 months). Mice were then subsequently euthanized for macro- and micro-histopathologic analysis for various times up to 6 months after the last TBI received. Animals were examined behaviorally, and brain sections were immunostained for glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) for astrocytes, iba-1 for activated microglia, and AT8 for phosphorylated tau protein. RESULTS: Animals on nutrient diets showed attenuated behavioral changes. The brains from all mice lacked macroscopic tissue damage at all time points. The rmTBI resulted in a marked neuroinflammatory response, with persistent and widespread astrogliosis and microglial activation, as well as significantly elevated phospho-tau immunoreactivity to 6 months. Mice treated with diets had significantly reduced inflammation and phospho-tau staining. CONCLUSIONS: The neuropathological findings in the rmTBI mice showed histopathological hallmarks of CTE, including increased astrogliosis, microglial activation, and hyperphosphorylated tau protein accumulation, while mice treated with diets had attenuated disease process. These studies demonstrate that consumption of nutrient-rich diets reduced disease progression.

Low-level laser therapy for beta amyloid toxicity in rat hippocampus.

Beta amyloid (Aß) is well accepted to play a central role in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease (AD). The present work evaluated the therapeutic effects of low-level laser irradiation (LLI) on Aß-induced neurotoxicity in rat hippocampus. Aß 1-42 was injected bilaterally to the hippocampus CA1 region of adult male rats, and 2-minute daily LLI treatment was applied transcranially after Aß injection for 5 consecutive days. LLI treatment suppressed Aß-induced hippocampal neurodegeneration and long-term spatial and recognition memory impairments. Molecular studies revealed that LLI treatment: (1) restored mitochondrial dynamics, by altering fission and fusion protein levels thereby suppressing Aß-induced extensive fragmentation; (2) suppressed Aß-induced collapse of mitochondrial membrane potential; (3) reduced oxidized mitochondrial DNA and excessive mitophagy; (4) facilitated mitochondrial homeostasis via modulation of the Bcl-2-associated X protein/B-cell lymphoma 2 ratio and of mitochondrial antioxidant expression; (5) promoted cytochrome c oxidase activity and adenosine triphosphate synthesis; (6) suppressed Aß-induced glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase and nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate oxidase activity; (7) enhanced the total antioxidant capacity of hippocampal CA1 neurons, whereas reduced the oxidative damage; and (8) suppressed Aß-induced reactive gliosis, inflammation, and tau hyperphosphorylation. Although development of AD treatments has focused on reducing cerebral Aß levels, by the time the clinical diagnosis of AD or mild cognitive impairment is made, the brain is likely to have already been exposed to years of elevated Aß levels with dire consequences for multiple cellular pathways. By alleviating a broad spectrum of Aß-induced pathology that includes mitochondrial dysfunction, oxidative stress, neuroinflammation, neuronal apoptosis, and tau pathology, LLI could represent a new promising therapeutic strategy for AD.

Dietary supplementation with S-adenosyl methionine delayed amyloid-ß and tau pathology in 3xTg-AD mice.

S-adenosyl methionine (SAM) contributes to multiple pathways in neuronal homeostasis, several of which are compromised in age-related neurodegeneration and Alzheimer's disease. Dietary supplementation of transgenic mice with SAM maintained acetylcholine levels, cognitive performance, oxidative buffering capacity, and phosphatase activity, and reduced aggression, calcium influx, endogenous PS-1 expression, γ-secretase activity, and levels of amyloid-ß (Aß) and phospho-tau. Herein, we examined whether or not SAM could delay neuropathology in 3xTg-AD mice, which harbor mutant genes for human AßPP, PS-1 and tau. Mice received a standard AIN-76 diet with or without SAM (100 mg/kg diet) for 1 month commencing at 10 months of age or for 3 months commencing at 12.5 months of age; mice were sacrificed and examined for Aß and tau neuropathology at 11 and 15.5 months of age, respectively. SAM supplementation reduced hippocampal intracellular AßPP/Aß and phospho-tau immunoreactivity to a similar extent at both sampling intervals. Supplementation reduced the number of extracellular Aß deposits by 80% (p < 0.01) at 11 months of age after 1 month of treatment but only by 24% (p < 0.34) at 15.5 months of age after 3 months of treatment. As anticipated, neurofibrillary tangles were not observed in mice at these young ages; however, supplementation reduced levels of phospho-tau and caspase-cleaved tau within Sarkosyl-insoluble preparations in mice at 15.5 months of age. These limited analyses indicate that SAM can modulate the time course of AD neuropathology, and support further long-term analyses.

Grape derived polyphenols attenuate tau neuropathology in a mouse model of Alzheimer's disease.

Aggregation of microtubule-associated protein tau into insoluble intracellular neurofibrillary tangles is a characteristic hallmark of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and other neurodegenerative diseases, including progressive supranuclear palsy, argyrophilic grain disease, corticobasal degeneration, frontotemporal dementias with Parkinsonism linked to chromosome 17, and Pick's disease. Tau is abnormally hyperphosphorylated in AD and aberrant tau phosphorylation contributes to the neuropathology of AD and other tauopathies. Anti-aggregation and anti-phosphorylation are main approaches for tau-based therapy. In this study, we report that a select grape-seed polyphenol extract (GSPE) could potently interfere with the assembly of tau peptides into neurotoxic aggregates. Moreover, oral administration of GSPE significantly attenuated the development of AD type tau neuropathology in the brain of TMHT mouse model of AD through mechanisms associated with attenuation of extracellular signal-receptor kinase 1/2 signaling in the brain.