Effects of alpha-lipoic acid on associative and spatial memory of sham-irradiated and 56Fe-irradiated C57BL/6J male mice.
Cranial irradiation with (56)Fe, a form of space radiation, causes hippocampus-dependent cognitive changes. (56)Fe irradiation also increases reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels, which may contribute to these changes. Therefore, we investigated the effects of the antioxidant alpha lipoic acid (ALA) on cognition following sham-irradiation and irradiation. Male mice were irradiated (brain only) with (56)Fe (3 Gy) or sham-irradiated at 6-9 months of age. Half of the mice remained fed a regular chow and the other half of the mice were fed a caloric-matched diet containing ALA starting two-weeks prior to irradiation and throughout cognitive testing. Following cognitive testing, levels of 3-nitrotyrosine (3NT), a marker of oxidative protein stress, and levels of microtubule-associated protein (MAP-2), a dendritic protein important for cognition, were assessed using immunohistochemistry and confocal microscopy. ALA prevented radiation-induced impairments in spatial memory retention in the hippocampal and cortical dependent water maze probe trials following reversal learning. However, in sham-irradiated mice, ALA treatment impaired cortical-dependent novel object recognition and amygdala-dependent cued fear conditioning. There was a trend towards lower 3NT levels in irradiated mice receiving a diet containing ALA than irradiated mice receiving a regular diet. In the hippocampal dentate gyrus of mice on regular diet, irradiated mice had higher levels of MAP-2 immunoreactivity than sham-irradiated mice. Thus, ALA might have differential effects on the brain under normal physiological conditions and those involving environmental challenges such as cranial irradiation.
Department of Behavioral Neuroscience, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR 97239, USA.
Laura E
LE
Villasana
Rosalind A
RA
Rosenthal
Susan R
SR
Doctrow
Timothy
T
Pfankuch
Damian G
DG
Zuloaga
Alexandra Maccoll
AM
Garfinkel
Jacob
J
Raber
D000818:Animals; D000975:Antioxidants / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001921:Brain / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism / Q000528:radiation effects; D003213:Conditioning, Psychological / Q000187:drug effects / Q000528:radiation effects; D016371:Cranial Irradiation / Q000379:methods / Q000523:psychology*; D018891:Dentate Gyrus / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism / Q000528:radiation effects; D007501:Iron / Q000633:toxicity*; D008297:Male; D018782:Maze Learning / Q000187:drug effects / Q000528:radiation effects; D008568:Memory / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000528:radiation effects*; D008569:Memory Disorders / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000178:diet therapy*; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D008869:Microtubule-Associated Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D011833:Radiation Injuries, Experimental / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000178:diet therapy*; D008063:Thioctic Acid / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D014443:Tyrosine / Q000031:analogs & derivatives / Q000378:metabolism
D000975:Antioxidants; D008869:Microtubule-Associated Proteins; C079240:Mtap2 protein, mouse; C002744:3-nitrotyrosine; D014443:Tyrosine; D008063:Thioctic Acid; D007501:Iron