Vitamin D Prevents Cognitive Decline and Enhances Hippocampal Synaptic Function in Aging Rats
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ABSTRACT:
ORGANISM(S): Rattus norvegicus
PROVIDER: GSE61326 | GEO | 2014/09/23
SECONDARY ACCESSION(S): PRJNA260784
REPOSITORIES: GEO
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Project description:Vitamin D is an important calcium-regulating hormone with diverse functions in numerous tissues including the brain. Increasing evidence suggests that vitamin D may play a role in maintaining cognitive function and that vitamin D deficiency may accelerate age-related cognitive decline. Using aging rodents, we attempted to model the range of human serum vitamin D levels, from deficient to sufficient, to test whether vitamin D could preserve or improve cognitive function with aging. For 5-6 months, middle-aged F344 rats were fed diets containing low, medium (typical amount) or high vitamin D3 (100, 1000 or 10,000 IU/kg diet, respectively) and then hippocampal-dependent learning and memory were tested in the Morris water maze. Rats on high vitamin D achieved the highest blood levels (in the sufficient range) and significantly outperformed low and medium groups on maze reversal, a particularly challenging task that detects more subtle changes in memory. In addition to calcium-related processes, hippocampal gene expression microarrays identified pathways pertaining to synaptic transmission, cell communication and G-protein function as being up-regulated with high vitamin D. Basal synaptic transmission also was enhanced corroborating observed effects on gene expression and learning and memory. Our studies demonstrate a causal relationship between vitamin D status and cognitive function and suggest that vitamin D-mediated changes in hippocampal gene expression may improve the likelihood of successful brain aging. Sixty, middle-aged male F344 rats were divided into three groups, each receiving for 5-6 months a different dietary amount of cholecalciferol (vitamin D3; VitD3). Purified AIN-93G (Harlan-Teklad) diet was modified to contain low, medium or high VitD3 (IU/kg diet): High = 10,000, Standard (Control) = 1000; Low = 100. Animal weight and amount of food consumed was recorded 2-3 times/week. Serum levels of 25-hydroxy vitamin D were determined using liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry (ZRT Laboratory). Hippocampal RNA was isolated, quantified and checked for RNA integrity. One low VitD3 sample failed RNA quality control. Remaining RNA samples were applied to Affymetrix Rat Gene 1.0 ST arrays (one array/subject). Pre-statistical filtering removed poorly annotated probe sets, low intensity signals, and outlier values (>2SD of the group mean). Filtered data were analyzed by 1-way ANOVA to identify significant differences and the False Discovery Rate (FDR) procedure was used to estimate the error of multiple testing. FDR was compared at 0.31 and 0.17. Significant genes were assigned to one of four idealized expression patterns using Pearson’s test and separated by the sign of their correlation; relative gene expression values are provided on the log-2 scale. Functional categorization for significant genes was determined using DAVID bioinformatic tools. Please note that 'Marked' and 'Unmarked' (in the sample titles) refers to whether the rat had a mark on its tail. The rats were pair-housed and this is how two rats in one cage were distinguished.
2014-09-23 | E-GEOD-61326 | biostudies-arrayexpress
Project description:Although immediate early genes (IEGs) such as Bdnf, Arc and Egr1, have been implicated in plasticity, the larger pathways related to memory and memory disorders are not well understood. Here, we combined statistical Affymetrix microarray and behavioral analyses to identify key genes and pathways associated with aging-related cognitive impairment. Aged rats were separated into cognitively unimpaired (AU) or impaired (AI) groups, based on their Morris water maze performance relative to young-adult (Y) animals. Hippocampal gene expression was assessed in Y, AU and AI on the fifth (last) day of maze training or 21 days posttraining, and in non-trained aged and young animals (eight groups, overall n = 78, one chip/animal). ANOVA, linear contrasts, and overrepresentation analyses identified genes and pathways that differed from Y generally with aging (in both AU and AI) or selectively with cognitive status (only in AI or AU). Plasticity pathways, including insulin/cAMP/IEG signaling, and glycogenolytic and lipogenic pathways, were selectively downregulated (5 days) in AI, whereas Notch2 (regulating oligodendrocyte differentiation) and myelination pathways were upregulated (particularly at 21 days). Downregulation with general aging occurred in signal transduction and axonal growth/transport pathways, whereas upegulation occurred in immune/inflammatory, lipid metabolism/transport (e.g., Lxr-Srebf1), and lysosomal pathways. In AU, receptor/signal transduction genes were selectively upregulated, suggesting possible compensatory mechanisms. Immunohistochemistry confirmed and extended results to the protein level. Thus, this study identified novel cognition-linked processes, suggesting a new model in which energy-intensive, plasticity/lipogenic processes and energy-generating pathways necessary for learning are coordinately downregulated during training, while myelinogenic programs that impair cognition are concurrently activated. Experiment Overall Design: Aged rats were separated into cognitively unimpaired (AU) or impaired (AI) groups, based on their Morris water maze performance relative to young-adult (Y) animals (NT, 5D, and 21D, N=10/group). Hippocampal gene expression was assessed in Y, AU and AI on the fifth (last) day of maze training or 21 days posttraining, and in non-trained aged and young animals (eight groups, overall n = 78, one chip/animal)
2007-11-29 | E-GEOD-5666 | biostudies-arrayexpress
Project description:We hypothesized that mouse Brpf1 plays critical roles in the morphology and function of hippocampal neurons, and its deficiency leads to learning and memory deficits. To test this, we performed immunofluorescence, whole-cell patch clamp, mRNA-Seq on shBrpf1 infected primary cultured hippocampal neurons to study the effect of Brpf1 knockdown on neuronal morphology, electrophysiological characteristics and gene regulation. In addition, we performed stereotactic injection into adult mouse hippocampus to knockdown Brpf1 in vivo and examined the learning and memory ability by Morris Water Maze. We found that mild knockdown of Brpf1 reduced mEPSC frequency of cultured hippocampal neurons, before any significant changes of dendritic morphology showed. We also found that hippocampal knockdown of Brpf1 reduced the learning and memory ability of mice to some extent. Finally, mRNA-Seq analyses showed that genes related to learning, memory, movement and synaptic transmission (such as C1ql1, Gpr17, Htr1d, Glra1, Cxcl10, Grin2a) were dysregulated upon Brpf1 knockdown. Our results showed that Brpf1 mild knockdown attenuated hippocampal excitatory neurotransmission and reduced learning and memory ability, which helps explain the symptoms of patients with BRPF1 mutations.
2021-05-19 | GSE174600 | GEO
Project description:Among all voltage-gated calcium channels, the T-type Ca2+ channels encoded by the Cav3 genes are highly expressed in the hippocampus, which is associated with contextual, temporal and spatial learning and memory. However, the specific involvement of the Cav3.2 T-type Ca2+ channel in these hippocampus-dependent types of learning and memory remains unclear. To investigate the functional role of the 1H channel in learning and memory, we subjected Cav3.2 homozygous, heterozygous knockout and their wild-type littermates to hippocampus-dependent behavioral tasks, including trace fear conditioning (TFC), the Morris water-maze and passive avoidance. The Cav3.2-/- mice performed normally in the Morris water-maze and auditory trace fear conditioning tasks but were impaired in the context-cued trace fear conditioning, step-down and step-through passive avoidance tasks. Furthermore, long-term potentiation (LTP) could be induced for 180 minutes in hippocampal slices of WTs and Cav3.2+/- mice, whereas LTP persisted for only 120 minutes in Cav3.2-/- mice. To determine whether the hippocampal formation is responsible for the impaired behavioral phenotypes , we next performed experiments locally knock down function of the Cav3.2 T-type Ca2+ channel in the hippocampus. Wild-type mice infused with mibefradil exhibited similar behaviors as homozygous knockouts. Finally, microarray analyses indicated that Cav3.2-/- and WT mice presented distinct hippocampal transcriptome profiles. Taken together, our results demonstrate that retrieval of context-associated memory is dependent on the Cav3.2 T-type Ca2+ channel. After WT and Cav3.2 KO mice retrieval of context-associated memory, three right hippocampi of each group were dissected, pooled together and homogenized. The products of experimental and naive groups were used to acquire expression profiles of a total of 29,922 unique genes. Two replicates per group.
2013-02-28 | E-GEOD-30845 | biostudies-arrayexpress
Project description:Among all voltage-gated calcium channels, the T-type Ca2+ channels encoded by the Cav3 genes are highly expressed in the hippocampus, which is associated with contextual, temporal and spatial learning and memory. However, the specific involvement of the Cav3.2 T-type Ca2+ channel in these hippocampus-dependent types of learning and memory remains unclear. To investigate the functional role of the 1H channel in learning and memory, we subjected Cav3.2 homozygous, heterozygous knockout and their wild-type littermates to hippocampus-dependent behavioral tasks, including trace fear conditioning (TFC), the Morris water-maze and passive avoidance. The Cav3.2-/- mice performed normally in the Morris water-maze and auditory trace fear conditioning tasks but were impaired in the context-cued trace fear conditioning, step-down and step-through passive avoidance tasks. Furthermore, long-term potentiation (LTP) could be induced for 180 minutes in hippocampal slices of WTs and Cav3.2+/- mice, whereas LTP persisted for only 120 minutes in Cav3.2-/- mice. To determine whether the hippocampal formation is responsible for the impaired behavioral phenotypes , we next performed experiments locally knock down function of the Cav3.2 T-type Ca2+ channel in the hippocampus. Wild-type mice infused with mibefradil exhibited similar behaviors as homozygous knockouts. Finally, microarray analyses indicated that Cav3.2-/- and WT mice presented distinct hippocampal transcriptome profiles. Taken together, our results demonstrate that retrieval of context-associated memory is dependent on the Cav3.2 T-type Ca2+ channel. After WT and Cav3.2 KO mice retrieval of context-associated memory, three left hippocampi of each group were dissected, pooled together and homogenized. The products of experimental and naive groups were used to acquire expression profiles of a total of 29,922 unique genes. Two replicates per group.
2013-02-28 | E-GEOD-30842 | biostudies-arrayexpress
Project description:MicroRNAs (miRNA) are small, non-coding RNAs mediating post-transcriptional regulation of gene expression. miRNAs have recently been implicated in hippocampus-dependent functions such as learning and memory, although the roles of individual miRNAs in these processes remain largely unknown. Here, we achieved stable inhibition using AAV-delivered miRNA sponges of individual, highly expressed and brain-enriched miRNAs; miR-124, miR-9 and miR-34, in hippocampal neurons. Molecular and cognitive studies revealed a role for miR-124 in learning and memory. Inhibition of miR-124 resulted in an enhanced spatial learning and working memory capacity, potentially through altered levels of genes linked to synaptic plasticity and neuronal transmission. In contrast, inhibition of miR-9 or miR-34 led to a decreased capacity of spatial learning and of reference memory, respectively. On a molecular level, miR-9 inhibition resulted in altered expression of genes related to cell adhesion, endocytosis and cell death, while miR-34 inhibition caused transcriptome changes linked to neuroactive ligand-receptor transduction and cell communication. In summary, this study establishes distinct roles for individual miRNAs in hippocampal function. Three RNA samples containing bilateral entire hippocampi from three different mice, per group. Group 1 were injected with vector containing GFP and a miR34sp/miR9sp and the other group were subjected to a vector expressing GFP only.
2016-03-01 | E-GEOD-68884 | biostudies-arrayexpress
Project description:The aim of this study was to investigate whether the differences in memory decline associated with aging are a result of differences in gene expression. We first categorized age-unimpaired and age-impaired rats based on their performance in the Morris Water Maze and then isolated messenger RNA from the CA1 hippocampal region of each animal to interrogate Affymetrix microarrays. Microarray analysis (p<0.005) identified a set of 50 genes that were transcribed differently in age-unimpaired animals that had successfully learned a spatial task compared to aged learning-impaired animals and a variety of groups designed to control for all non-learning aspects of exposure to the water maze paradigm. Experiment Overall Design: a total of 79 samples were analyzed including aged and young rats. One chip was interrogated per animal. Analysis of aged rat data includes 44 samples. Controls include cage controls, yoked controls (no platform), visible platform controls.
2007-11-06 | E-GEOD-3531 | biostudies-arrayexpress
Project description:Among all voltage-gated calcium channels, the T-type Ca2+ channels encoded by the Cav3 genes are highly expressed in the hippocampus, which is associated with contextual, temporal and spatial learning and memory. However, the specific involvement of the Cav3.2 T-type Ca2+ channel in these hippocampus-dependent types of learning and memory remains unclear. To investigate the functional role of the 1H channel in learning and memory, we subjected Cav3.2 homozygous, heterozygous knockout and their wild-type littermates to hippocampus-dependent behavioral tasks, including trace fear conditioning (TFC), the Morris water-maze and passive avoidance. The Cav3.2-/- mice performed normally in the Morris water-maze and auditory trace fear conditioning tasks but were impaired in the context-cued trace fear conditioning, step-down and step-through passive avoidance tasks. Furthermore, long-term potentiation (LTP) could be induced for 180 minutes in hippocampal slices of WTs and Cav3.2+/- mice, whereas LTP persisted for only 120 minutes in Cav3.2-/- mice. To determine whether the hippocampal formation is responsible for the impaired behavioral phenotypes , we next performed experiments locally knock down function of the Cav3.2 T-type Ca2+ channel in the hippocampus. Wild-type mice infused with mibefradil exhibited similar behaviors as homozygous knockouts. Finally, microarray analyses indicated that Cav3.2-/- and WT mice presented distinct hippocampal transcriptome profiles. Taken together, our results demonstrate that retrieval of context-associated memory is dependent on the Cav3.2 T-type Ca2+ channel.
2013-02-28 | GSE30845 | GEO
Project description:Among all voltage-gated calcium channels, the T-type Ca2+ channels encoded by the Cav3 genes are highly expressed in the hippocampus, which is associated with contextual, temporal and spatial learning and memory. However, the specific involvement of the Cav3.2 T-type Ca2+ channel in these hippocampus-dependent types of learning and memory remains unclear. To investigate the functional role of the 1H channel in learning and memory, we subjected Cav3.2 homozygous, heterozygous knockout and their wild-type littermates to hippocampus-dependent behavioral tasks, including trace fear conditioning (TFC), the Morris water-maze and passive avoidance. The Cav3.2-/- mice performed normally in the Morris water-maze and auditory trace fear conditioning tasks but were impaired in the context-cued trace fear conditioning, step-down and step-through passive avoidance tasks. Furthermore, long-term potentiation (LTP) could be induced for 180 minutes in hippocampal slices of WTs and Cav3.2+/- mice, whereas LTP persisted for only 120 minutes in Cav3.2-/- mice. To determine whether the hippocampal formation is responsible for the impaired behavioral phenotypes , we next performed experiments locally knock down function of the Cav3.2 T-type Ca2+ channel in the hippocampus. Wild-type mice infused with mibefradil exhibited similar behaviors as homozygous knockouts. Finally, microarray analyses indicated that Cav3.2-/- and WT mice presented distinct hippocampal transcriptome profiles. Taken together, our results demonstrate that retrieval of context-associated memory is dependent on the Cav3.2 T-type Ca2+ channel.
2013-02-28 | GSE30842 | GEO
Project description:Calorie restriction (CR) enhances longevity and mitigates aging phenotypes in numerous species. Physiological responses to CR are cell-type specific and variable throughout the lifespan; however, the mosaic of molecular changes responsible CR benefits remain unclear, particularly in brain regions susceptible to deterioration throughout aging. Thus, we examined the influence of long-term CR on the CA1 hippocampal region, a key learning and memory brain area that is vulnerable to age-related pathologies, such as Alzheimerâs disease (AD). Through mRNA sequencing and NanoString nCounter analysis, we demonstrate that one year of CR feeding suppresses an age-dependent signature of 882 genes functionally associated with synaptic transmission-related pathways, including calcium signaling, long-term potentiation (LTP), and Creb signaling in wild-type mice. By comparing the influence of CR on hippocampal CA1 region transcriptional profiles at younger- (5 months) and older-adult (15 months) timepoints, we identify conserved upregulation of proteome quality control and calcium buffering genes, including heat shock 70 kDa proteins 1b and 5 (Hspa1b and Hspa5), protein disulfide isomerase family A members 4 and 6 (Pdia4 and Pdia6), and calreticulin (Calr). Expression levels of putative neuroprotective factors, klotho (Kl) and transthyretin (Ttr), are also elevated by CR throughout adulthood, although the global CR-specific expression profiles at young and older timepoints are highly divergent. At a previously unachieved resolution, our results demonstrate conserved activation of neuroprotective gene signatures and broad CR-suppression of age-dependent hippocampal CA1 region expression changes, indicating that CR functionally maintains a more youthful transcriptional state within hippocampal CA1 throughout aging. Hippocampal CA1 region mRNA profiles of younger- (5 months) and older-adult (15 months) mice on calorie-restricted (CR) and normal (AD) diets were generated by deep sequencing using Illumina HiSeq 2500.
2015-07-14 | E-GEOD-69952 | biostudies-arrayexpress