Chronic treatment with a precursor of cellular phosphatidylcholine ameliorates morphological and behavioral effects of aging in the mouse [correction of rat] hippocampus.
Normal aging is commonly associated with a decline in memory, mainly for that related with newly acquired information. The hippocampal formation (HF) is a brain region that has been implicated in this dysfunction. Within the HF there are several cellular types, such as pyramidal cells, granule neurons of the dentate gyrus, and astrocytes. CDP-choline is a well-known intermediate in the biosynthesis of phosphatidylcholine, a phospholipid essential for neuronal membrane preservation and function; thus, this compound would attenuate the process of neuronal aging. To test this, three groups of male mice were used in this study. An adult 12-month-old group (ACG), a 24-month-old (OCG), and an old experimental group (OEG) were administered orally a solution of CDP-choline (150 mg/kg per day) from 12 up to 24 months. Experimental observations suggest that CDP-choline has a positive effect on memory (reference errors were attenuated), and hippocampal morphology resembled that of younger animals.
Crespo
D
D
Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Cantabria, 39011-Santander, Spain. crespod@unican.es
Megias
M
M
Fernandez-Viadero
C
C
Verduga
R
R
D000375:Aging; D000818:Animals; D003566:Cytidine Diphosphate Choline / Q000494:pharmacology; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D008568:Memory; D051379:Mice; D010713:Phosphatidylcholines / Q000378:metabolism / Q000494:pharmacology*; D010743:Phospholipids / Q000378:metabolism
D010713:Phosphatidylcholines; D010743:Phospholipids; D003566:Cytidine Diphosphate Choline