Department of Food and Nutrition, Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, Korea.
Department of Biomedical Sciences, Graduate School of Seoul National University, Seoul 03080, Korea.
Sci Rep. 2017 Apr 10;7:45693. doi: 10.1038/srep45693.
Overconsumption of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) is known to be a key contributor to the obesity epidemic; however, its effects on behavioral changes are yet to be fully studied. In the present study, we examined the long-term effects of SSB on social aggression in mice. Three-week-old weaned mice started to drink either a 30 w/v% sucrose solution (S30), plain water (CT), or an aspartame solution with sweetness equivalent to the sucrose solution (A30) and continued to drink until they were 11-week-old adults. Aggressive behaviors were assessed by the resident-intruder test. We found that SSB significantly promoted social aggression, accompanied by heightened serum corticosterone and reduced body weight. To understand the underlying mechanism, we performed transcriptome analyses of brain. The profiles of mice on S30 were dramatically different from those on CT or A30. Transcriptional networks related to immunological function were significantly dysregulated by SSB. FACS analysis of mice on S30 revealed increased numbers of inflammatory cells in peripheral blood. Interestingly, the artificial sweetener failed to mimic the effects of sugar on social aggression and inflammatory responses. These results demonstrate that SSB promotes aggressive behaviors and provide evidence that sugar reduction strategies may be useful in efforts to prevent social aggression.
过量摄入含糖饮料（SSB）被认为是肥胖流行的一个主要原因；然而，其对行为变化的影响尚未得到充分研究。在本研究中，我们研究了 SSB 对小鼠社交攻击的长期影响。三周大的断奶小鼠开始分别饮用 30%w/v 的蔗糖溶液（S30）、普通水（CT）或甜度相当于蔗糖溶液的阿斯巴甜溶液（A30），并持续饮用至 11 周龄成年。通过“居民-入侵者”测试评估攻击行为。我们发现 SSB 显著促进社交攻击，伴随着血清皮质酮升高和体重减轻。为了了解潜在的机制，我们对大脑进行了转录组分析。S30 组的小鼠图谱与 CT 组或 A30 组有明显差异。SSB 显著调节与免疫功能相关的转录网络。对 S30 组小鼠的 FACS 分析显示外周血中炎症细胞数量增加。有趣的是，人工甜味剂未能模拟糖对社交攻击和炎症反应的影响。这些结果表明 SSB 促进攻击行为，并提供了证据表明减少糖的策略可能有助于预防社交攻击。
