title: Vascular changes in rat hippocampus following a high saturated fat and cholesterol diet.
abstract: The long-term effects of a diet rich in saturated fat and cholesterol on the hippocampus were evaluated in this study. It has previously been shown that this type of diet is detrimental to health, particularly affecting peripheral organs such as the heart and liver. However, effects on the brain have not been fully evaluated. This study focused on the hippocampus, a brain region instrumental for learning and memory and vulnerable to ischemic damage. Reduced blood-brain barrier (BBB) integrity and increased microgliosis were observed in the hippocampus of rats fed a high-saturated-fat and cholesterol (HFHC) diet for 6 months. Interestingly, an increase in hippocampal protein levels of occludin, a tight junction protein, was found in HFHC-treated rats as well. Further investigation revealed decreased expression of the occludin protein in blood vessels and increased expression in the dentate gyrus hilar neurons and mossy fibers of the hippocampal cornus ammonis 3 in HFHC-treated rats. Our results show alterations in BBB integrity and expression of tight junction proteins after long-term exposure to HFHC diet in rats. These findings may suggest a biologic mechanism for previously observed behavioral deficits occurring in rats fed this diet.
authors: Department of Neurosciences and the Center on Aging, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, South Carolina 29425, USA. freemal@musc.edu
authors: Linnea R
authors: LR
authors: Freeman
authors: Ann-Charlotte E
authors: AC
authors: Granholm
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001812:Blood-Brain Barrier / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology; D002545:Brain Ischemia / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000378:metabolism / Q000503:physiopathology; D056654:CA3 Region, Hippocampal / Q000098:blood supply / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology; D002560:Cerebrovascular Circulation / Q000187:drug effects; D002784:Cholesterol / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000494:pharmacology; D018891:Dentate Gyrus / Q000098:blood supply / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology; D004041:Dietary Fats / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000494:pharmacology; D005260:Female; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation / Q000187:drug effects; D006801:Humans; D007858:Learning / Q000187:drug effects; D008565:Membrane Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis; D062793:Occludin; D051381:Rats; D011916:Rats, Inbred F344; D019108:Tight Junctions / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology
chemical_list: D004041:Dietary Fats; D008565:Membrane Proteins; C568985:OCLN protein, human; D062793:Occludin; C568987:Ocln protein, rat; D002784:Cholesterol