title: Overexpression of the vesicular acetylcholine transporter enhances dendritic complexity of adult-born hippocampal neurons and improves acquisition of spatial memory during aging.
abstract: Aging is marked by progressive impairments in the process of adult neurogenesis and spatial memory performance. The underlying mechanisms for these impairments have not been fully established; however, they may coincide with decline of cholinergic signaling in the hippocampus. This study investigates whether augmenting cholinergic neurotransmission, by enhancing the expression of the vesicular acetylcholine transporter (VAChT), influences the age-related decline in the development of newborn hippocampal cells and spatial memory. We found that enhanced VAChT expression in the hippocampus of mice contributes to lifelong increases in the dendritic complexity of newborn neurons. Furthermore, enhanced VAChT expression improved memory acquisition through an increased use of spatially precise search strategies in the Morris water maze through the course of the aging process. These data suggest that VAChT overexpression contributes to increases in dendritic complexity and improved spatial memory during aging.
authors: Biological Sciences, Sunnybrook Research Institute, Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
authors: Paul Michael
authors: PM
authors: Nagy
authors: Biological Sciences, Sunnybrook Research Institute, Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Electronic address: isabelle.aubert@sri.utoronto.ca.
authors: Isabelle
authors: I
authors: Aubert
mesh_terms: D000375:Aging; D000818:Animals; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D059329:Cholinergic Neurons / Q000502:physiology; D003712:Dendrites / Q000502:physiology*; D015870:Gene Expression; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000166:cytology* / Q000502:physiology / Q000503:physiopathology; D008297:Male; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D055495:Neurogenesis; D065852:Spatial Memory / Q000502:physiology; D009435:Synaptic Transmission; D050494:Vesicular Acetylcholine Transport Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D050494:Vesicular Acetylcholine Transport Proteins
keywords: Acetylcholine; Adult neurogenesis; B6.Cg-Tg(RP23-268L19-EGFP)2Mik/J; B6eGFPChAT; Bacterial artificial chromosome; Behavior; Hippocampus