title: Long-term consumption of sugar-sweetened beverage during the growth period promotes social aggression in adult mice with proinflammatory responses in the brain.
abstract: Overconsumption of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) is known to be a key contributor to the obesity epidemic; however, its effects on behavioral changes are yet to be fully studied. In the present study, we examined the long-term effects of SSB on social aggression in mice. Three-week-old weaned mice started to drink either a 30 w/v% sucrose solution (S30), plain water (CT), or an aspartame solution with sweetness equivalent to the sucrose solution (A30) and continued to drink until they were 11-week-old adults. Aggressive behaviors were assessed by the resident-intruder test. We found that SSB significantly promoted social aggression, accompanied by heightened serum corticosterone and reduced body weight. To understand the underlying mechanism, we performed transcriptome analyses of brain. The profiles of mice on S30 were dramatically different from those on CT or A30. Transcriptional networks related to immunological function were significantly dysregulated by SSB. FACS analysis of mice on S30 revealed increased numbers of inflammatory cells in peripheral blood. Interestingly, the artificial sweetener failed to mimic the effects of sugar on social aggression and inflammatory responses. These results demonstrate that SSB promotes aggressive behaviors and provide evidence that sugar reduction strategies may be useful in efforts to prevent social aggression.
authors.affiliation: Department of Food and Nutrition, Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, Korea.
authors.forename: Jung-Yun
authors.initials: JY
authors.lastname: Choi
authors.affiliation: Department of Food and Nutrition, Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, Korea.
authors.forename: Mi-Na
authors.initials: MN
authors.lastname: Park
authors.affiliation: Department of Food and Nutrition, Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, Korea.
authors.forename: Chong-Su
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical Sciences, Graduate School of Seoul National University, Seoul 03080, Korea.
authors.forename: Young-Kwan
authors.initials: YK
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical Sciences, Graduate School of Seoul National University, Seoul 03080, Korea.
authors.forename: Eun Young
authors.initials: EY
authors.lastname: Choi
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Chungnam National University, Daejeon 34134, Korea.
authors.forename: Woo Young
authors.initials: WY
authors.lastname: Chun
authors.affiliation: Department of Food and Nutrition, Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, Korea.|Research Institution of Human Ecology, Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, Korea.
authors.forename: Dong-Mi
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Shin
mesh_terms: D000374:Aggression; D000818:Animals; D001522:Behavior, Animal; D001628:Beverages / Q000009:adverse effects*; D001835:Body Weight; D001921:Brain / Q000473:pathology*; D003345:Corticosterone / Q000097:blood; D004032:Diet / Q000379:methods*; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D051379:Mice; D000073893:Sugars / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects*; D013549:Sweetening Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects*
chemical_list: D000073893:Sugars; D013549:Sweetening Agents; D003345:Corticosterone