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Neuroprotective Effects of Choline and Other Methyl Donors.

ABSTRACT: Recent evidence suggests that physical and mental health are influenced by an intricate interaction between genes and environment. Environmental factors have been shown to modulate neuronal gene expression and function by epigenetic mechanisms. Exposure to these factors including nutrients during sensitive periods of life could program brain development and have long-lasting effects on mental health. Studies have shown that early nutritional intervention that includes methyl-donors improves cognitive functions throughout life. Choline is a micronutrient and a methyl donor that is required for normal brain growth and development. It plays a pivotal role in maintaining structural and functional integrity of cellular membranes. It also regulates cholinergic signaling in the brain via the synthesis of acetylcholine. Via its metabolites, it participates in pathways that regulate methylation of genes related to memory and cognitive functions at different stages of development. Choline-related functions have been dysregulated in some neurodegenerative diseases suggesting choline role in influencing mental health across the lifespan.

SUBMITTER: Bekdash RA

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6950346 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Neuroprotective Effects of Choline and Other Methyl Donors.

Bekdash Rola A RA

Nutrients 20191206 12

Recent evidence suggests that physical and mental health are influenced by an intricate interaction between genes and environment. Environmental factors have been shown to modulate neuronal gene expression and function by epigenetic mechanisms. Exposure to these factors including nutrients during sensitive periods of life could program brain development and have long-lasting effects on mental health. Studies have shown that early nutritional intervention that includes methyl-donors improves cogn ...[more]

PMID: 31817768

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Project description:Intersections in hepatic methyl group metabolism pathways highlights potential competition or compensation of methyl donors. The objective of this experiment was to examine the expression of genes related to methyl group transfer and lipid metabolism in response to increasing concentrations of choline chloride (CC) and DL-methionine (DLM) in primary neonatal hepatocytes that were or were not exposed to fatty acids (FA). Primary hepatocytes isolated from 4 neonatal Holstein calves were maintained as monolayer cultures for 24 h before treatment with CC (61, 128, 2028, and 4528 μmol/L) and DLM (16, 30, 100, 300 μmol/L), with or without a 1 mmol/L FA cocktail in a factorial arrangement. After 24 h of treatment, media was collected for quantification of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and very low-density lipoprotein (VLDL), and cell lysates were collected for quantification of gene expression. No interactions were detected between CC, DLM, or FA. Both CC and DLM decreased the expression of methionine adenosyltransferase 1A (MAT1A). Increasing CC did not alter betaine-homocysteine S-methyltranferase (BHMT) but did increase 5-methyltetrahydrofolate-homocysteine methyltransferase (MTR) and methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) expression. Increasing DLM decreased expression of BHMT and MTR, but did not affect MTHFR. Expression of both phosphatidylethanolamine N-methyltransferase (PEMT) and microsomal triglyceride transfer protein (MTTP) were decreased by increasing CC and DLM, while carnitine palmitoyltransferase 1A (CPT1A) was unaffected by either. Treatment with FA decreased the expression of MAT1A, MTR, MTHFR and tended to decrease PEMT but did not affect BHMT and MTTP. Treatment with FA increased CPT1A expression. Increasing CC increased secretion of VLDL and decreased the accumulation of ROS in media. Within neonatal bovine hepatocytes, choline and methionine differentially regulate methyl carbon pathways and suggest that choline may play a critical role in donating methyl groups to support methionine regeneration. Stimulating VLDL export and decreasing ROS accumulation suggests that increasing CC is hepato-protective.

Project description:Hypoxic-ischemic (HI) injury in the developing brain is a common cause of disability in children, and there are no effective treatments at this time. Erythropoietin (EPO) has recently gained interest as a neuroprotective drug, and EPO and its receptor are expressed within the central nervous system. We have recently shown that pretreatment with EPO markedly reduced brain injury caused by unilateral hypoxic-ischemic insult in 7 day old mice. EPO did not reduce early signs of neuronal injury at 6 hours, but significantly protected the neonatal brain when assessed 24 hours and 7 days after HI. The mechanism of this delayed protection is unclear, but is thought to involve transcription of neuroprotective genes, possibly subsequent to activation of NFkB. By comparing gene expression in EPO- and vehicle- (VEH) treated mice after HI, we should gain insight into the mechanisms underlying the neuroprotective effects of EPO and may identify additional targets for therapeutic interventions. We will compare gene expression patterns in 7-day old mouse forebrain after 1) VEH pretreatment plus sham surgery, 2) VEH pretreatment plus HI, and 3) EPO pretreatment plus HI. We will thus identify genes induced by HI in the developing brain and characterize changes in gene expression caused by EPO pretreatment. We will use the model of neonatal hypoxic-ischemic injury and EPO treatment parameters that were used in our prior studies demonstrating neuroprotection. Based on the time-course of neuroprotection defined in our prior study and the pharmacokinetic profile of EPO, we will examine gene expression 18 hours after HI. We hypothesize that changes in gene expression after EPO pretreatment underlie the neuroprotective effects of this cytokine after neonatal hypoxic ischemic injury. We will examine gene expression in 3 groups: 1) 1) VEH pretreatment + sham surgery, 2) VEH pretreatment + HI, and 3) EPO pretreatment + HI. EPO (5U/g, i.p.) or VEH was injected in 7 day old mice, drawn from 4 litters, with 3 to 4 pups per treatment group in each litter. One hour later, the right common carotid artery was ligated under isoflurane anesthesia, animals were allowed to recover for 90 min and were then placed in hypoxic chambers (10% oxygen, balance nitrogen) for 50 min. The animals subjected to sham surgery received isoflurane anesthesia for a comparable period, incision and dissection to visualize the common carotid artery, but no ligation and no hypoxia. Eighteen hrs later, animals were anesthetized with isoflurane and the right hemisphere was rapidly dissected and placed in RNA Later (Qiagen) at 4C. Total RNA was isolated using an RNeasy lipid tissue mini kit (QIAzol lysis and RNeasy purification, Qiagen). RNA concentrations were determined spectrophotometrically and an aliquot of each sample was examined by gel electrophoresis to screen for degradation. Samples were stored at -80C. After quality control screening, we selected 5 male and 5 female samples per treatment group (extra samples were reserved). We plan to pool 1 male and 1 female for each microarray sample and we plan to run 5 microarrays from each treatment group, for a total of 15 microarrays. We would like to have Agilent Bioanalyzer quality control assays on the individual samples carried out by the consortium before pooling. We will send 10 micrograms of each sample for Agilent QC and subsequent pooling of equimolar amounts. We would like to use Affymetrix mouse gene chips (please advise which specific chips are available; are you using the GeneChip Mouse Expression array 430A or the GeneChip Mouse Genome 430 2.0 Array?). Keywords: dose response

Dataset Information

Neuroprotective Effects of Choline and Other Methyl Donors.

Publications

Neuroprotective Effects of Choline and Other Methyl Donors.

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