Inhibition of inflammation by astaxanthin alleviates cognition deficits in diabetic mice.
Neurons in the hippocampal and cortical functional regions are more susceptible to damage induced by hyperglycemia, which can result in severe spatial learning and memory impairment. Neuroprotection ameliorates cognitive impairment induced by hyperglycemia in diabetic encephalopathy (DE). Astaxanthin has been widely studied in diabetes mellitus and diabetic complications due to its hypoglycemic, antioxidant and anti-apoptotic effects. However, whether astaxanthin can alleviate cognition deficits induced by DE and its precise mechanisms remain undetermined. In this study, DE was induced by streptozotocin (STZ, 150 mg/kg) in ICR mice. We observed the effect of astaxanthin on cognition and investigated its potential mechanisms in DE mice. Results showed that astaxanthin treatment significantly decreased the latency and enhanced the distance and time spent in the target quadrant in the Morris water maze test. Furthermore, neuronal survival was significantly increased in the hippocampal CA3 region and the frontal cortex following treatment with astaxanthin. Meanwhile, immunoblotting was used to observe the nuclear translocation of nuclear factor-kappaB (NF-κB) p65 and the expression of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) in the hippocampus and frontal cortex. The results indicated that astaxanthin could inhibit NF-κB nuclear translocation and downregulate TNF-α expression in the hippocampus and frontal cortex. Overall, the present study implied that astaxanthin could improve cognition by protecting neurons against inflammation injury potentially through inhibiting the nuclear translocation of NF-κB and down-regulating TNF-α.
Department of Pathogen Biology and Immunology, Laboratory of Infection and Immunity, Xuzhou Medical College, Xuzhou, Jiangsu 221004, PR China; Laboratory of Morphology, Xuzhou Medical College, Xuzhou, Jiangsu 221004, PR China.
Xiaoyan
X
Zhou
Department of Pathogen Biology and Immunology, Laboratory of Infection and Immunity, Xuzhou Medical College, Xuzhou, Jiangsu 221004, PR China; Laboratory of Morphology, Xuzhou Medical College, Xuzhou, Jiangsu 221004, PR China.
Fang
F
Zhang
Department of Pathogen Biology and Immunology, Laboratory of Infection and Immunity, Xuzhou Medical College, Xuzhou, Jiangsu 221004, PR China; Laboratory of Morphology, Xuzhou Medical College, Xuzhou, Jiangsu 221004, PR China.
Xiaotong
X
Hu
Department of Pathogen Biology and Immunology, Laboratory of Infection and Immunity, Xuzhou Medical College, Xuzhou, Jiangsu 221004, PR China; Laboratory of Morphology, Xuzhou Medical College, Xuzhou, Jiangsu 221004, PR China.
Jing
J
Chen
Department of Genetics, Research Center for Neurobiology, Xuzhou Medical College, Xuzhou, Jiangsu 221004, PR China.
Xiangru
X
Wen
Department of Neurology, Affiliated Hospital of Xuzhou, Jiangsu 221002, PR China.
Ying
Y
Sun
Department of Neurology, Affiliated Hospital of Xuzhou, Jiangsu 221002, PR China.
Yonghai
Y
Liu
Department of Pathogen Biology and Immunology, Laboratory of Infection and Immunity, Xuzhou Medical College, Xuzhou, Jiangsu 221004, PR China.
Renxian
R
Tang
Department of Pathogen Biology and Immunology, Laboratory of Infection and Immunity, Xuzhou Medical College, Xuzhou, Jiangsu 221004, PR China. Electronic address: zky02@163.com.
Kuiyang
K
Zheng
Department of Genetics, Research Center for Neurobiology, Xuzhou Medical College, Xuzhou, Jiangsu 221004, PR China; Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Brain Disease Bioinformation, Xuzhou Medical College, Xuzhou, Jiangsu 221004, PR China. Electronic address: biosongyuanjian@126.com.
Yuanjian
Y
Song
D000704:Analysis of Variance; D000818:Animals; D001786:Blood Glucose / Q000187:drug effects; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000209:etiology*; D003921:Diabetes Mellitus, Experimental / Q000150:complications* / Q000473:pathology; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D005625:Frontal Lobe / Q000473:pathology; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000473:pathology; D007249:Inflammation / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000209:etiology*; D008124:Locomotion / Q000187:drug effects; D008297:Male; D018782:Maze Learning / Q000187:drug effects; D051379:Mice; D008813:Mice, Inbred ICR; D016328:NF-kappa B / Q000378:metabolism; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000187:drug effects; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha / Q000378:metabolism; D024341:Xanthophylls / Q000627:therapeutic use
D001786:Blood Glucose; D016328:NF-kappa B; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha; D024341:Xanthophylls; C005948:astaxanthine
Astaxanthin; Cognition deficits; Diabetic encephalopathy; Inflammation; Nuclear factor-κB; Tumor necrosis factor-α