EPA/DHA and vitamin A supplementation improves spatial memory and alleviates the age-related decrease in hippocampal RXRγ and kinase expression in rats
Front. Aging Neurosci.. 2016-05-09; 8:
DOI: 10.3389/fnagi.2016.00103
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1. Front Aging Neurosci. 2016 May 9;8:103. doi: 10.3389/fnagi.2016.00103.
eCollection 2016.
EPA/DHA and Vitamin A Supplementation Improves Spatial Memory and Alleviates the
Age-related Decrease in Hippocampal RXRγ and Kinase Expression in Rats.
Létondor A(1), Buaud B(2), Vaysse C(2), Richard E(3), Layé S(4), Pallet V(5),
Alfos S(5).
Author information:
(1)Université de Bordeaux, Nutrition et Neurobiologie Intégrée, UMR 1286Bordeaux,
France; INRA, Nutrition et Neurobiologie Intégrée, UMR 1286Bordeaux, France;
Bordeaux INP, Nutrition et Neurobiologie Intégrée, UMR 1286Bordeaux, France;
ITERG, Institut des Corps GrasPessac, France.
(2)ITERG, Institut des Corps Gras Pessac, France.
(3)INSERM, Biothérapie des Maladies Génétiques Inflammatoires et Cancers, U1035
Bordeaux, France.
(4)Université de Bordeaux, Nutrition et Neurobiologie Intégrée, UMR 1286Bordeaux,
France; INRA, Nutrition et Neurobiologie Intégrée, UMR 1286Bordeaux, France.
(5)Université de Bordeaux, Nutrition et Neurobiologie Intégrée, UMR 1286Bordeaux,
France; INRA, Nutrition et Neurobiologie Intégrée, UMR 1286Bordeaux, France;
Bordeaux INP, Nutrition et Neurobiologie Intégrée, UMR 1286Bordeaux, France.
Studies suggest that eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), and
vitamin A are critical to delay aged-related cognitive decline. These nutrients
regulate gene expression in the brain by binding to nuclear receptors such as the
retinoid X receptors (RXRs) and the retinoic acid receptors (RARs). Moreover,
EPA/DHA and retinoids activate notably kinase signaling pathways such as AKT or
MAPK, which includes ERK1/2. This suggests that these nutrients may modulate
brain function in a similar way. Therefore, we investigated in middle-aged rats
the behavioral and molecular effects of supplementations with EPA/DHA and vitamin
A alone or combined. 18-month-old rats exhibited reference and working memory
deficits in the Morris water maze, associated with a decrease in serum vitamin A
and hippocampal EPA/DHA contents. RARα, RXRβ, and RXRγ mRNA expression and
CAMKII, AKT, ERK1/2 expression were decreased in the hippocampus of middle-aged
rats. A combined EPA/DHA and vitamin A supplementation had a beneficial additive
effect on reference memory but not in working memory in middle-aged rats,
associated with an alleviation of the age-related decrease in RXRγ, CAMKII, AKT,
and ERK1 expression in the hippocampus. This study provides a new combined
nutritional strategy to delay brain aging.
DOI: 10.3389/fnagi.2016.00103
PMCID: PMC4860397
PMID: 27242514