title: Vitamin E deficiency induces axonal degeneration in mouse hippocampal neurons.
abstract: Several lines of evidence demonstrate the relationship between vitamin E deficiency and cognitive dysfunction in rodent models, but little is known about the underlying mechanisms. In this study, we found axonal injury in the hippocampal CA1 region of vitamin E-deficient and normal old mice using immunohistochemical assay. The number of cells in the hippocampal CA1 region of vitamin E-deficient mice and normal old mice was significantly lower than in normal young mice. It is well known that collapsin response mediator protein (CRMP)-2 plays a crucial role in the maintenance of axonal conditions. The expressions of CRMP-2 in the cerebral cortex and hippocampus of vitamin E-deficient mice were significantly lower than both the regions of normal ones. In normal old mice, the expression of CRMP-2 in the cerebral cortex was significantly lower than in the normal ones. In addition, the appearance of microtubule-associated protein (MAP)-light chain 3 (LC3), a major index of autophagy, was higher in the cerebral cortex and hippocampus of vitamin E-deficient mice than in normal young and old mice. These results indicate that axonal degeneration is induced in living tissues, but not cultured cells, and that changes in CRMP-2 and MAP-LC3 may underlie vitamin E-deficiency-related axonal degeneration.
authors: Physiological Chemistry Laboratory, Department of Bioscience and Engineering, College of Systems Engineering and Sciences, Shibaura Institute of Technology, Saitama, Japan. koji@sic.shibaura-it.ac.jp
authors: Koji
authors: K
authors: Fukui
authors: Hiroaki
authors: H
authors: Kawakami
authors: Tatsuki
authors: T
authors: Honjo
authors: Reiko
authors: R
authors: Ogasawara
authors: Hirokatsu
authors: H
authors: Takatsu
authors: Tadashi
authors: T
authors: Shinkai
authors: Tatsuro
authors: T
authors: Koike
authors: Shiro
authors: S
authors: Urano
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001343:Autophagy; D001369:Axons / Q000473:pathology*; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000473:pathology; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000166:cytology*; D036341:Intercellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D008869:Microtubule-Associated Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D009410:Nerve Degeneration / Q000473:pathology*; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D009474:Neurons / Q000473:pathology*; D014811:Vitamin E Deficiency / Q000097:blood* / Q000473:pathology*
chemical_list: D036341:Intercellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins; C480860:Map1lc3b protein, mouse; D008869:Microtubule-Associated Proteins; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins; C095114:collapsin response mediator protein-2