Lei Ming, Su Yang, Hua Xiangdong, Ding Jiong, Han Qunying, Hu Gang, Xiao Ming
Key Laboratory of Neurodegeneration, Department of Anatomy, Histology and Pharmacology, Jiangsu Province Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, P.R. China.
Neuroreport. 2008 Oct 29;19(16):1611-5. doi: 10.1097/WNR.0b013e3283136a1f.
Accumulated evidence indicates chronic systemic injection of D-galactose mimics aging progress induced by oxidative stress. We addressed whether memory impairment in this model was associated with the cholinergic septohippocampal degeneration. Rats injected with D-galactose for 6 weeks showed impairment of spatial learning and memory as measured by the water maze test. Correspondingly, anti-choline acetyltransferase immunohistochemistry demonstrated a severe loss of cholinergic terminals in the hippocampus accompanied by a mild cholinergic neuronal atrophy and loss in the medial septum and the nucleus of the vertical limb of the diagonal band of Broca. A major synaptic degeneration in the hippocampus was confirmed by ultrastructural analysis. These findings provide neuropathological evidence for rodents with chronic injection of D-galactose as a promising model for brain aging and age-related neurodegeneration.
累积证据表明，长期全身性注射D-半乳糖可模拟氧化应激诱导的衰老过程。我们探讨了该模型中的记忆障碍是否与胆碱能海马隔区变性有关。通过水迷宫试验测量，注射D-半乳糖6周的大鼠表现出空间学习和记忆障碍。相应地，抗胆碱乙酰转移酶免疫组织化学显示海马中胆碱能终末严重丧失，伴有内侧隔区和布罗卡斜角带垂直支核中轻度胆碱能神经元萎缩和丧失。超微结构分析证实海马中存在主要的突触变性。这些发现为慢性注射D-半乳糖的啮齿动物提供了神经病理学证据，表明其是脑衰老和年龄相关神经退行性变的一个有前景的模型。
