title: Organoselenium improves memory decline in mice: involvement of acetylcholinesterase activity.
abstract: The present study was designed to investigate the possible neuroprotective effect of p,p'-methoxyl-diphenyl diselenide [(MeOPhSe)(2)] in a model of sporadic dementia of Alzheimer's type (SDAT) induced by intracerebroventricular (i.c.v.) injection of streptozotocin (STZ) in mice. Mice were divided into four groups: (I) control, (II) (MeOPhSe)(2), (III) STZ, and (IV) (MeOPhSe)(2)+STZ. Mice were exposed to (MeOPhSe)(2) (25mg/kg, by gavage) and STZ (2mul of 2.5mg/ml solution; i.c.v.) or vehicles. 48 after that the exposure was repeated. Learning and memory were assessed with the step-down-type passive-avoidance (SDPA) and Morris water-maze (MWM) tests at the days 5-6 and 6-9, respectively. At the end of the experimental protocol animals were euthanized and cerebral cortex was removed for acetylcholinesterase (AChE) activity assay. Our results confirmed that i.c.v. STZ caused learning and memory deficits in mice, which were verified using the MWM and SDPA tasks. Furthermore, this study showed that AChE activity was increased in mice that received i.c.v. STZ. The most important findings of the present study are that (MeOPhSe)(2) was able to reverse the learning and memory impairments induced by STZ, and to protect against the increase in AChE activity. All these findings support the neuroprotective role of (MeOPhSe)(2) in a mice model of SDAT induced by i.c.v. STZ.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Química, Centro de Ciências Naturais e Exatas, Universidade Federal de Santa Maria, SM, RS, CEP 97105-900 Santa Maria, Brazil.
authors.forename: Simone
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Pinton
authors.forename: Juliana Trevisan
authors.initials: JT
authors.lastname: da Rocha
authors.forename: Gilson
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Zeni
authors.forename: Cristina Wayne
authors.initials: CW
authors.lastname: Nogueira
mesh_terms: D000110:Acetylcholinesterase / Q000378:metabolism*; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000523:psychology*; D000818:Animals; D001362:Avoidance Learning / Q000187:drug effects; D001555:Benzene Derivatives / Q000494:pharmacology*; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000187:drug effects / Q000201:enzymology; D008297:Male; D018782:Maze Learning / Q000187:drug effects; D008568:Memory / Q000187:drug effects*; D051379:Mice; D018696:Neuroprotective Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D016566:Organoselenium Compounds / Q000494:pharmacology*; D013311:Streptozocin
chemical_list: D001555:Benzene Derivatives; D018696:Neuroprotective Agents; D016566:Organoselenium Compounds; C528548:p-methoxy-diphenyl diselenide; D013311:Streptozocin; D000110:Acetylcholinesterase