title: Environmental enrichment enhances cellular plasticity in transgenic mice with Alzheimer-like pathology.
abstract: Alzheimer's disease (AD) is accompanied by hippocampal neuronal loss and abnormal neurogenesis, both of which probably contributing to AD-related cognitive deficits. Mounting evidence indicates that cognitive and physical stimulation provided by environmental enrichment improves neurogenesis in healthy animals and counteracts beta-amyloid pathology in mouse models of AD. Here, we hypothesized that environmental enrichment has also an impact on hippocampal neurogenesis in mice with AD-like pathology. Therefore, TgCRND8 mice and wild type littermates were either housed under standard conditions or in an enriched environment for 4 months. Standard housed TgCRND8 mice revealed diminished hippocampal cell proliferation and reduced number of mature newborn neurons compared to wild type littermates under the same housing condition. However, environmental enrichment reversed this genotype effect. Here, we show that cognitive and physical stimulation is capable of increasing the number of newborn mature hippocampal neurons in transgenic mice to wild type levels. Moreover, the expression of various plasticity associated molecules was enhanced in transgenic mice due to enriched housing. This study identifies that environmental enrichment improves diminished cellular plasticity in AD brain, probably enhancing the brain capacity to better compensate for neurodegeneration.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Neuropathology, University Hospital Muenster, Muenster, Germany.
authors.forename: Arne
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Herring
authors.forename: Oliver
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Ambrée
authors.forename: Manuel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tomm
authors.forename: Henrik
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Habermann
authors.forename: Norbert
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Sachser
authors.forename: Werner
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Paulus
authors.forename: Kathy
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Keyvani
mesh_terms: D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000235:genetics / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000628:therapy*; D016564:Amyloid beta-Protein Precursor / Q000235:genetics; D000818:Animals; D049109:Cell Proliferation; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000235:genetics / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000628:therapy*; D006224:Cricetinae; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D004777:Environment; D004780:Environment, Controlled; D005260:Female; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D008647:Mesocricetus; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D008822:Mice, Transgenic; D055495:Neurogenesis / Q000502:physiology*; D009473:Neuronal Plasticity / Q000502:physiology*; D009474:Neurons / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology; D010812:Physical Stimulation; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D016564:Amyloid beta-Protein Precursor