Inhibition of inflammation by astaxanthin alleviates cognition deficits in diabetic mice.

Abstract

Neurons in the hippocampal and cortical functional regions are more susceptible to damage induced by hyperglycemia, which can result in severe spatial learning and memory impairment. Neuroprotection ameliorates cognitive impairment induced by hyperglycemia in diabetic encephalopathy (DE). Astaxanthin has been widely studied in diabetes mellitus and diabetic complications due to its hypoglycemic, antioxidant and anti-apoptotic effects. However, whether astaxanthin can alleviate cognition deficits induced by DE and its precise mechanisms remain undetermined. In this study, DE was induced by streptozotocin (STZ, 150 mg/kg) in ICR mice. We observed the effect of astaxanthin on cognition and investigated its potential mechanisms in DE mice. Results showed that astaxanthin treatment significantly decreased the latency and enhanced the distance and time spent in the target quadrant in the Morris water maze test. Furthermore, neuronal survival was significantly increased in the hippocampal CA3 region and the frontal cortex following treatment with astaxanthin. Meanwhile, immunoblotting was used to observe the nuclear translocation of nuclear factor-kappaB (NF-κB) p65 and the expression of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) in the hippocampus and frontal cortex. The results indicated that astaxanthin could inhibit NF-κB nuclear translocation and downregulate TNF-α expression in the hippocampus and frontal cortex. Overall, the present study implied that astaxanthin could improve cognition by protecting neurons against inflammation injury potentially through inhibiting the nuclear translocation of NF-κB and down-regulating TNF-α.

• Authors: Xiaoyan Zhou, Fang Zhang, Xiaotong Hu, Jing Chen, Xiangru Wen, Ying Sun, Yonghai Liu, Renxian Tang, Kuiyang Zheng, Yuanjian Song
• Journal: Physiology & behavior (Physiol Behav) Vol. 151 Pg. 412-20 (Nov 01 2015) ISSN: 1873-507X [Electronic] United States
• PMID: 26272354 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't)
• Copyright: Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Chemical References

• Blood Glucose
• NF-kappa B
• Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha
• Xanthophylls
• astaxanthine

Topics

• Analysis of Variance
• Animals
• Blood Glucose (drug effects)
• Cognition Disorders (drug therapy, etiology)
• Diabetes Mellitus, Experimental (complications, pathology)
• Disease Models, Animal
• Frontal Lobe (pathology)
• Hippocampus (pathology)
• Inflammation (drug therapy, etiology)
• Locomotion (drug effects)
• Male
• Maze Learning (drug effects)
• Mice
• Mice, Inbred ICR
• NF-kappa B (metabolism)
• Reaction Time (drug effects)
• Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha (metabolism)
• Xanthophylls (therapeutic use)