title: Environmental Enrichment Improves Behavior, Cognition, and Brain Functional Markers in Young Senescence-Accelerated Prone Mice (SAMP8).
abstract: The environment in which organisms live can greatly influence their development. Consequently, environmental enrichment (EE) is progressively recognized as an important component in the improvement of brain function and development. It has been demonstrated that rodents raised under EE conditions exhibit favorable neuroanatomical effects that improve their learning, spatial memory, and behavioral performance. Here, by using senescence-accelerated prone mice (SAMP8) and these as a model of adverse genetic conditions for brain development, we determined the effect of EE by raising these mice during early life under favorable conditions. We found a better generalized performance of SAMP8 under EE in the results of four behavioral and learning tests. In addition, we demonstrated broad molecular correlation in the hippocampus by an increase in NeuN and Ki67 expression, as well as an increase in the expression of neurotrophic factors, such as pleiotrophin (PTN) and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), with a parallel decrease in neurodegenerative markers such as GSK3, amyloid-beta precursor protein, and phosphorylated beta-catenin, and a reduction of SBDP120, Bax, GFAP, and interleukin-6 (IL-6), resulting in a neuroprotective panorama. Globally, it can be concluded that EE applied to SAMP8 at young ages resulted in epigenetic regulatory mechanisms that give rise to significant beneficial effects at the molecular, cellular, and behavioral levels during brain development, particularly in the hippocampus.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutic Chemistry (Pharmacology Section) and Institute of Biomedicine (IBUB), Universitat de Barcelona, Avda. Joan XXIII s/n., 08028, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Griñan-Ferré
authors.affiliation: Animal Experimentation Unit, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Barcelona, Avda Joan XXIII s/n., 08028, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Pérez-Cáceres
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutic Chemistry (Pharmacology Section) and Institute of Biomedicine (IBUB), Universitat de Barcelona, Avda. Joan XXIII s/n., 08028, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Sofía Martínez
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Gutiérrez-Zetina
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutic Chemistry (Pharmacology Section) and Institute of Biomedicine (IBUB), Universitat de Barcelona, Avda. Joan XXIII s/n., 08028, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Antoni
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Camins
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutic Chemistry (Pharmacology Section) and Institute of Biomedicine (IBUB), Universitat de Barcelona, Avda. Joan XXIII s/n., 08028, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Verónica
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Palomera-Avalos
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Investigación en Ciencias Biomédicas (IICB), CUCS, Universidad de Guadalajara, Sierra Mojada No. 950, Col. Independencia, Guadalajara, 44340, Jalisco, Mexico.
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Ortuño-Sahagún
authors.affiliation: Animal Experimentation Unit, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Barcelona, Avda Joan XXIII s/n., 08028, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: M Teresa
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Rodrigo
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutic Chemistry (Pharmacology Section) and Institute of Biomedicine (IBUB), Universitat de Barcelona, Avda. Joan XXIII s/n., 08028, Barcelona, Spain. pallas@ub.edu.
authors.forename: M
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3095-4254
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Pallàs
mesh_terms: D000375:Aging / Q000502:physiology*; D016564:Amyloid beta-Protein Precursor / Q000378:metabolism; D000818:Animals; D001522:Behavior, Animal; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000378:metabolism*; D015153:Blotting, Western; D001921:Brain / Q000502:physiology*; D053148:Caspase 3 / Q000378:metabolism; D003071:Cognition; D004777:Environment; D004789:Enzyme Activation; D044127:Epigenesis, Genetic; D005904:Glial Fibrillary Acidic Protein / Q000378:metabolism; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000378:metabolism; D007249:Inflammation / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D008822:Mice, Transgenic; D009042:Motivation; D009474:Neurons / Q000378:metabolism; D011494:Protein Kinases / Q000378:metabolism; D011499:Protein Processing, Post-Translational; D065852:Spatial Memory
chemical_list: D016564:Amyloid beta-Protein Precursor; D015415:Biomarkers; D005904:Glial Fibrillary Acidic Protein; D011494:Protein Kinases; D053148:Caspase 3
keywords: Aging; Apoptosis; Behavior; Cognition; Enriched environment; Hippocampus; Inflammation; Learning; Neurodenegeration; Neurogenesis; Neurotrophin; Tau kinases