title: α-Lipoic acid attenuates obesity-associated hippocampal neuroinflammation and increases the levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor in ovariectomized rats fed a high-fat diet.
abstract: Overweight or obesity in post-menopausal women is known to induce metabolic disorders associated with neuroinflammation. α-lipoic acid (α-LA), which has been clinically used to treat diabetic peripheral neuropathy, has been found to exert anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective effects in patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD). In this study, to investigate the effects of α-LA on neuroinflammatory factors and the levels of hippocampal brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) in ovariectomized rats fed a high-fat diet (HFD), Wistar ovariectomized rats were fed HFD alone or HFD and treated with α-LA for 12 weeks. Metabolic parameters in serum were detected, real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), western blot analysis and ELISA were used to evaluate the levels of inflammatory factors and BDNF in the hippocampus. α-LA markedly reduced body weight, the levels of serum total cholesterol (TC) and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), as well as the levels of leptin and insulin resistance in ovariectomized rats fed HFD. It also significantly increased the levels of serum adiponectin and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C). In the hippocampal tissues of ovariectomized rats fed HFD, the protein and mRNA expression of BDNF was upregulated following the administration of α-LA. Conversely, the levels of interleukin 6 (IL-6) and tumour necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) were decreased following treatment with α-LA. These findings demonstrate that α-LA significantly increases the expression of BDNF in the hippocampus of obese ovariectomized rats fed HFD, possibly by improving lipid metabolism, enhancing insulin sensitivity and reversing central inflammation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Endocrinology, Qilu Hospital of Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong 250012, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Yulian
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Miao
authors.forename: Jianmin
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ren
authors.forename: Ling
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Jiang
authors.forename: Jinbo
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Bei
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Jiang
authors.forename: Xiaoli
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhang
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D019208:Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor / Q000378:metabolism*; D059305:Diet, High-Fat / Q000009:adverse effects*; D005260:Female; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism*; D009765:Obesity / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism; D010052:Ovariectomy; D051381:Rats; D008063:Thioctic Acid / Q000627:therapeutic use*
chemical_list: D019208:Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor; D008063:Thioctic Acid