Forebrain depletion of Rheb GTPase elicits spatial memory deficits in mice
Autor: | Wen-Chin Huang, Srinivasa Subramaniam, Damon T. Page, Neelam Shahani, Megan Varnum |
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Rok vydání: | 2017 |
Předmět: |
0301 basic medicine
Aging Elevated plus maze Morris water navigation task Mice Transgenic GTPase Article 03 medical and health sciences Prosencephalon Alzheimer Disease Amyloid precursor protein Animals Aspartic Acid Endopeptidases Cognitive Dysfunction Molecular Targeted Therapy PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway Monomeric GTP-Binding Proteins Spatial Memory Sirolimus Memory Disorders biology Activator (genetics) General Neuroscience Neuropeptides Mice Mutant Strains 030104 developmental biology Forebrain biology.protein Ras Homolog Enriched in Brain Protein Neurology (clinical) Amyloid Precursor Protein Secretases Geriatrics and Gerontology Neuroscience Developmental Biology RHEB |
Zdroj: | Neurobiology of Aging. 50:134-143 |
ISSN: | 0197-4580 |
Popis: | The precise molecular and cellular events responsible for age-dependent cognitive dysfunctions remain unclear. We report that Rheb (ras homolog enriched in brain) GTPase, an activator of mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR), regulates memory functions in mice. Conditional depletion of Rheb selectively in the forebrain of mice obtained from crossing Rhebf/f and CamKIICre results in spontaneous signs of age-related memory loss, that is, spatial memory deficits (T-maze, Morris water maze) without affecting locomotor (open-field test), anxiety-like (elevated plus maze), or contextual fear conditioning functions. Partial depletion of Rheb in forebrain was sufficient to elicit memory defects with little effect on the neuronal size, cortical thickness, or mammalian target of rapamycin activity. Rheb depletion, however, increased the levels of beta-site amyloid precursor protein cleaving enzyme 1 (BACE1), a protein elevated in aging and Alzheimer's disease. Overall, our study demonstrates that forebrain Rheb promotes aging-associated cognitive defects. Thus, molecular understanding of Rheb pathway in brain may provide new therapeutic targets for aging and/or Alzheimer's disease–associated memory deficits. |
Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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