Consuming a Diet Supplemented with Resveratrol Reduced Infection-Related Neuroinflammation and Deficits in Working Memory in Aged Mice

Aged mice treated peripherally with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) show an exaggerated neuroinflammatory response and cognitive deficits compared to adults. Considerable evidence suggests resveratrol, a polyphenol found in red grapes, has potent antiinflammatory effects in the periphery, but its effects on the central inflammatory response and cognitive behavior are unknown. Therefore, the current study investigated if resveratrol dietary supplementation would inhibit neuroinflammation as well as behavioral and cognitive deficits in aged mice given LPS to mimic a peripheral infection. In initial studies, adult (3-6 months) and aged (22-24 months) mice were provided control or resveratrol-supplemented diet for 4 weeks and then injected intraperitoneally (i.p.) with saline or LPS, and locomotor activity and spatial working memory were assessed. As anticipated, deficits in locomotor activity and spatial working memory indicated aged mice are more sensitive to LPS compared to adults. More importantly, the LPS-induced deficits in aged animals were mitigated by dietary supplementation of resveratrol. In addition, resveratrol consumption reduced LPS-induced interleukin-1 beta (IL-1 beta) in plasma and the IL-1 beta mRNA in the hippocampus of aged mice. Finally, pretreatment of BV-2 microglial cells with resveratrol potently inhibited LPS-induced IL-1 beta production. These data show that aged mice are more sensitive than adult mice to both the inflammatory and cognitive effects of peripheral immune stimulation and suggest that resveratrol may be useful for attenuating acute cognitive disorders in elderly individuals with an infection.