Division of Radiation Health, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, AR 72205, USA.
Int J Mol Sci. 2019 Feb 18;20(4):885. doi: 10.3390/ijms20040885.
Aging is characterized by increased inflammation and deterioration of the cellular stress responses such as the oxidant/antioxidant equilibrium, DNA damage repair fidelity, and telomeric attrition. All these factors contribute to the increased radiation sensitivity in the elderly as shown by epidemiological studies of the Japanese atomic bomb survivors. There is a global increase in the aging population, who may be at increased risk of exposure to ionizing radiation (IR) as part of cancer therapy or accidental exposure. Therefore, it is critical to delineate the factors that exacerbate age-related radiation sensitivity and neurocognitive decline. The transcription factor CCAAT enhancer binding protein delta (C/EBPδ) is implicated with regulatory roles in neuroinflammation, learning, and memory, however its role in IR-induced neurocognitive decline and aging is not known. The purpose of this study was to delineate the role of C/EBPδ in IR-induced neurocognitive decline in aged mice. We report that aged mice exposed to acute IR exposure display impairment in short-term memory and spatial memory that correlated with significant alterations in the morphology of neurons in the dentate gyrus (DG) and CA1 apical and basal regions. There were no significant changes in the expression of inflammatory markers. However, the expression of superoxide dismutase 2 (SOD2) and catalase (CAT) were altered post-IR in the hippocampus of aged mice. These results suggest that may protect from IR-induced neurocognitive dysfunction by suppressing oxidative stress in aged mice.
衰老是由炎症增加和细胞应激反应的恶化引起的,如氧化还原平衡、DNA 损伤修复保真度和端粒磨损。所有这些因素都导致了老年人的辐射敏感性增加,正如日本原子弹幸存者的流行病学研究所示。随着人口老龄化的全球增加,他们可能面临更高的接触电离辐射(IR)的风险,这可能是癌症治疗或意外暴露的一部分。因此,明确加剧与年龄相关的辐射敏感性和神经认知衰退的因素至关重要。转录因子 CCAAT 增强子结合蛋白 delta(C/EBPδ)在神经炎症、学习和记忆的调节中具有重要作用,但它在 IR 诱导的神经认知衰退和衰老中的作用尚不清楚。本研究旨在阐明 C/EBPδ 在老年小鼠 IR 诱导的神经认知衰退中的作用。我们报告说,接受急性 IR 暴露的老年小鼠表现出短期记忆和空间记忆受损,这与齿状回(DG)和 CA1 顶和基底区域神经元形态的显著改变相关。炎症标志物的表达没有显著变化。然而,在老年小鼠的海马体中,SOD2 和 CAT 的表达在 IR 后发生改变。这些结果表明,可能通过抑制老年小鼠的氧化应激来保护其免受 IR 诱导的神经认知功能障碍。