Green tea catechin polyphenols attenuate behavioral and oxidative responses to intermittent hypoxia.
BACKGROUND
The intermittent hypoxia (IH) that characterizes sleep-disordered breathing impairs spatial learning and increases NADPH oxidase activity and oxidative stress in rodents. We hypothesized that green tea catechin polyphenols (GTPs) may attenuate IH-induced neurobehavioral deficits by reducing IH-induced NADPH oxidase expression, lipid peroxidation, and inflammation.


OBJECTIVE
To assess the effects of GTP administered in drinking water on the cognitive, inflammatory, and oxidative responses to long-term (>14 d) IH during sleep in male Sprague-Dawley rats.


METHODS
Cognitive assessments were conducted in the Morris water maze. We measured levels and expression of malondialdehyde (MDA), prostaglandin E(2), p47(phox) subunit of NADPH oxidase, receptor for advanced glycation end products (RAGE), and glial fibrillary acidic protein expression in rodent brain tissue.


RESULTS
GTP treatment prevented IH-induced decreases in spatial bias for the hidden platform during the Morris water maze probe trails as well as IH-induced increases in p47phox expression within the hippocampal CA1 region. In untreated animals, IH exposure was associated with doubling of cortical MDA levels in comparison to room air control animals, and GTP-treated animals exposed to IH showed a 40% reduction in MDA levels. Increases in brain RAGE and glial fibrillary acidic protein expression were observed in IH-exposed animals, and these increases were attenuated in animals treated with GTP.


CONCLUSIONS
Oral GTP attenuates IH-induced spatial learning deficits and mitigates IH-induced oxidative stress through multiple beneficial effects on oxidant pathways. Because oxidative processes underlie neurocognitive deficits associated with IH, the potential therapeutic role of GTP in sleep-disordered breathing deserves further exploration.
Burckhardt
Isabel C
IC
Kosair Children's Hospital Research Institute, University of Louisville, 570 South Preston Street, Suite 204, Louisville, KY 40202, USA.
Gozal
David
D
Dayyat
Ehab
E
Cheng
Yu
Y
Li
Richard C
RC
Goldbart
Aviv D
AD
Row
Barry W
BW
D000818:Animals; D002392:Catechin / Q000494:pharmacology*; D003071:Cognition / Q000187:drug effects*; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000187:drug effects; D000860:Hypoxia / Q000209:etiology / Q000523:psychology*; D015227:Lipid Peroxidation / Q000187:drug effects; D008297:Male; D018782:Maze Learning / Q000187:drug effects*; D019255:NADPH Oxidases / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D018384:Oxidative Stress / Q000187:drug effects; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000494:pharmacology*; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D012891:Sleep Apnea Syndromes / Q000150:complications / Q000523:psychology*; D013662:Tea / Q000737:chemistry
D010936:Plant Extracts; D013662:Tea; D002392:Catechin; D019255:NADPH Oxidases; C060505:neutrophil cytosolic factor 1