期刊
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
卷 23, 期 18, 页码 -出版社
MDPI
DOI: 10.3390/ijms231810254
关键词
aging; endocannabinoid system; cognitive functions
资金
- Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) [426320013, 461228630, 324087152, EXC2151-390873048]
The study on the eCB system in the mouse brain revealed that middle age is the period when the eCB system is most affected. During this period, substances such as 2-AG and AEA had significantly decreased concentrations in specific brain regions, which may affect the process of cognitive aging.
Endocannabinoid (eCB) signaling is markedly decreased in the hippocampus (Hip) of aged mice, and the genetic deletion of the cannabinoid receptor type 1 (CB1) leads to an early onset of cognitive decline and age-related histological changes in the brain. Thus, it is hypothesized that cognitive aging is modulated by eCB signaling through CB1. In the present study, we detailed the changes in the eCB system during the aging process using different complementary techniques in mouse brains of five different age groups, ranging from adolescence to old age. Our findings indicate that the eCB system is most strongly affected in middle-aged mice (between 9 and 12 months of age) in a brain region-specific manner. We show that 2-arachidonoylglycerol (2-AG) was prominently decreased in the Hip and moderately in caudate putamen (CPu), whereas anandamide (AEA) was decreased in both CPu and medial prefrontal cortex along with cingulate cortex (mPFC+Cg), starting from 6 months until 12 months. Consistent with the changes in 2-AG, the 2-AG synthesizing enzyme diacylglycerol lipase alpha (DAGL alpha) was also prominently decreased across the sub-regions of the Hip. Interestingly, we found a transient increase in CB1 immunoreactivity across the sub-regions of the Hip at 9 months, a plausible compensation for reduced 2-AG, which ultimately decreased strongly at 12 months. Furthermore, quantitative autoradiography of CB1 revealed that [H-3]CP55940 binding markedly increased in the Hip at 9 months. However, unlike the protein levels, CB1 binding density did not drop strongly at 12 months and at old age. Furthermore, [H-3]CP55940 binding was significantly increased in the lateral entorhinal cortex (LEnt), starting from the middle age until the old age. Altogether, our findings clearly indicate a middle-age crisis in the eCB system, which could be a potential time window for therapeutic interventions to abrogate the course of cognitive aging.
作者
我是这篇论文的作者
点击您的名字以认领此论文并将其添加到您的个人资料中。
推荐
暂无数据