Department of Informative Clinical Medicine, Fujita Health University School of Medical Sciences, Toyoake, Aichi, Japan.
Department of Preventive Medical Sciences, Fujita Health University School of Medical Sciences, Toyoake, Aichi, Japan.
PLoS One. 2022 Jun 17;17(6):e0270144. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0270144. eCollection 2022.
Consumption of fructose-containing beverages such as high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) is increasing, raising concerns about the negative effects of excessive fructose intake. A recent report indicated that excess HFCS intake impairs hippocampal function. In this study, we focused on neurotrophic factors (NFs) in the hippocampus from the viewpoint of epigenetics to clarify the adverse effects of fructose. We analyzed the effects of HFCS intake on hippocampal function in three age categories: childhood and adolescence (postnatal day (PD) 21-60), young adulthood (PD60-100), and late adulthood (PD100-140). For the experiments, male Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into three age categories, the control group was received distilled water and the HFCS group was received 20% HFCS solution for 40 days in each period. We analyzed mRNA and protein levels for qPCR and western blotting, respectively, of a hippocampal NF, brain-derived neurotrophic factor (Bdnf). HFCS consumption reduced hippocampal Bdnf mRNA and protein expressions in childhood and adolescence. Moreover, pyrosequencing assays revealed increased DNA methylation at the Bdnf promoter in childhood and adolescence. This Bdnf levels reduction may be due to hypermethylation of the promoter regions. It should be noted that this phenomenon was observed only in childhood and adolescence fructose consumption. Our results indicate that the sensitivity of the hippocampus to fructose may vary with age. This study provides insight into the adverse effects of excessive HFCS consumption on the hippocampus in children.
饮用含果糖的饮料(如高果糖玉米糖浆,HFCS)的情况正在增加,这引发了人们对过量摄入果糖的负面影响的担忧。最近的一份报告表明,过量摄入 HFCS 会损害海马体功能。在这项研究中,我们从表观遗传学的角度关注海马体中的神经营养因子(NFs),以阐明果糖的不良作用。我们分析了 HFCS 摄入对三个年龄段(儿童和青少年期[出生后第 21-60 天]、青年期[第 60-100 天]和成年晚期[第 100-140 天])海马体功能的影响。在实验中,雄性 Sprague-Dawley 大鼠被分为三个年龄组,对照组给予蒸馏水,HFCS 组在每个时期给予 20%HFCS 溶液 40 天。我们分别通过 qPCR 和 Western blot 分析海马体 NF 脑源性神经营养因子(Bdnf)的 mRNA 和蛋白水平。HFCS 摄入降低了儿童和青少年时期的海马体 Bdnf mRNA 和蛋白表达。此外,焦磷酸测序检测显示,儿童和青少年时期 Bdnf 启动子的 DNA 甲基化增加。Bdnf 水平的降低可能是由于启动子区域的过度甲基化所致。值得注意的是,这种现象仅在儿童和青少年时期果糖摄入时观察到。我们的结果表明,海马体对果糖的敏感性可能随年龄而变化。这项研究为儿童时期过量 HFCS 摄入对海马体的不良影响提供了新的认识。