Altered hippocampal neurogenesis in a transgenic mouse model of Alzheimer’s disease. Changes induced by long term exposure to an enriched environment.

BEAUQUIS J; GALVÁN V; ROIG P; GOROSTIZA O; DE NICOLA AF; SARAVIA F

Huerta Grande, Córdoba.

Congreso; IRCN First Joint Meeting of the Argentine Society for Neurosciences and the Argentine Workshop in Neuroscience; 2009

Sociedad Argentina de Investigación en Neurociencias - Taller Argentino de Neurociencias

Evidence from the literature suggests that cognitive stimulation can be protective in some neurodegenerative diseases, including AD. Our aim was to explore the effect of environmental enrichment on different steps of hippocampal neurogenesis in a model of AD, and their potential correlation with cognitive function. Female transgenic mice (tg), carrying the Swedish and Indiana Familial AD-associated mutations in the amyloid precursor protein, and their siblings (non-tg) were housed in special cages containing tubes, nesting material, a house and toys, or in standard conditions (SC) for 3 months (5 to 8 months of life). Proliferation rates measured by Ki67 labeling in the dentate gyrus were lower in tg mice compared with controls with no effects of EE. Tg mice showed a decrease in doublecortin cells in the dentate gyrus. Survival of newborn cells was examined by administration of bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU) 21 d before euthanasia. EE induced a marked increase in BrdU+ cells in both groups (non-tg SC 59.8±11.4; tg SC 21.3±7.05; non-tg EE 135.2±16.9 p