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Young blood reverses age-related impairments in cognitive function and synaptic plasticity in mice.

ABSTRACT: As human lifespan increases, a greater fraction of the population is suffering from age-related cognitive impairments, making it important to elucidate a means to combat the effects of aging. Here we report that exposure of an aged animal to young blood can counteract and reverse pre-existing effects of brain aging at the molecular, structural, functional and cognitive level. Genome-wide microarray analysis of heterochronic parabionts--in which circulatory systems of young and aged animals are connected--identified synaptic plasticity-related transcriptional changes in the hippocampus of aged mice. Dendritic spine density of mature neurons increased and synaptic plasticity improved in the hippocampus of aged heterochronic parabionts. At the cognitive level, systemic administration of young blood plasma into aged mice improved age-related cognitive impairments in both contextual fear conditioning and spatial learning and memory. Structural and cognitive enhancements elicited by exposure to young blood are mediated, in part, by activation of the cyclic AMP response element binding protein (Creb) in the aged hippocampus. Our data indicate that exposure of aged mice to young blood late in life is capable of rejuvenating synaptic plasticity and improving cognitive function.

SUBMITTER: Villeda SA

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4224436 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Young blood reverses age-related impairments in cognitive function and synaptic plasticity in mice.

Villeda Saul A SA Plambeck Kristopher E KE Middeldorp Jinte J Castellano Joseph M JM Mosher Kira I KI Luo Jian J Smith Lucas K LK Bieri Gregor G Lin Karin K Berdnik Daniela D Wabl Rafael R Udeochu Joe J Wheatley Elizabeth G EG Zou Bende B Simmons Danielle A DA Xie Xinmin S XS Longo Frank M FM Wyss-Coray Tony T

Nature medicine 20140504 6

As human lifespan increases, a greater fraction of the population is suffering from age-related cognitive impairments, making it important to elucidate a means to combat the effects of aging. Here we report that exposure of an aged animal to young blood can counteract and reverse pre-existing effects of brain aging at the molecular, structural, functional and cognitive level. Genome-wide microarray analysis of heterochronic parabionts--in which circulatory systems of young and aged animals are c ...[more]

PMID: 24793238

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Young blood reverses age-related impairments in cognitive function and synaptic plasticity in mice.

Publications

Young blood reverses age-related impairments in cognitive function and synaptic plasticity in mice.

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