背景:酗酒,一个普遍的全球健康问题,与认知障碍和神经变性的发作有关。由单体球状肌动蛋白(G-肌动蛋白)和微管蛋白聚合的肌动蛋白丝(F-肌动蛋白)和微管(MT)形成神经元细胞骨架的结构基础。精确调节这些细胞骨架蛋白的组装和分解,以及它们的动态平衡,在调节神经元形态和功能中起着关键作用。然而,长期酒精暴露对细胞骨架动力学的影响尚不完全清楚。这项研究调查了酒精对认知能力的慢性影响,小鼠海马神经元形态和细胞骨架动力学。
方法:向小鼠提供饮用水中的5%(v/v)酒精,并胃内给药30%(v/v,6.0g/kg/天)成年期六周的酒精。然后使用Y迷宫评估认知功能,新颖的物体识别和莫里斯水迷宫测试。通过苏木精-伊红(HE)和Nissl染色评估海马组织形态学。使用两种商业测定试剂盒分离肌动蛋白细胞骨架和微管的聚合和解聚状态,并通过Westernblot分析进行定量。
结果:长期暴露于酒精的小鼠表现出明显的空间和识别记忆缺陷,行为测试证明了这一点。组织学分析显示明显的海马损伤和神经元丢失。F-肌动蛋白/G-肌动蛋白和MT/微管蛋白的比率降低,随着聚合的F-肌动蛋白和MTs水平的降低,在酒精治疗小鼠的海马中发现。
结论:我们的研究结果表明,长期饮酒会破坏海马中肌动蛋白细胞骨架和MT的组装,可能导致慢性酒精中毒引起的认知缺陷和病理损伤。
BACKGROUND: Alcohol abuse, a prevalent global health issue, is associated with the onset of cognitive impairment and neurodegeneration. Actin filaments (F-actin) and microtubules (MTs) polymerized from monomeric globular actin (G-actin) and tubulin form the structural basis of the neuronal cytoskeleton. Precise regulation of the assembly and disassembly of these cytoskeletal proteins, and their dynamic balance, play a pivotal role in regulating neuronal morphology and function. Nevertheless, the effect of prolonged alcohol exposure on cytoskeleton dynamics is not fully understood. This study investigates the chronic effects of alcohol on cognitive ability, neuronal morphology and cytoskeleton dynamics in the mouse hippocampus.
METHODS: Mice were provided ad libitum access to 5% (v/v) alcohol in drinking water and were intragastrically administered 30% (v/v, 6.0 g/kg/day) alcohol for six weeks during adulthood. Cognitive functions were then evaluated using the Y maze, novel object recognition and Morris water maze tests. Hippocampal histomorphology was assessed through hematoxylin-eosin (HE) and Nissl staining. The polymerized and depolymerized states of actin cytoskeleton and microtubules were separated using two commercial assay kits and quantified by Western blot analysis.
RESULTS: Mice chronically exposed to alcohol exhibited significant deficits in spatial and recognition memory as evidenced by behavioral tests. Histological analysis revealed notable hippocampal damage and neuronal loss. Decreased ratios of F-actin/G-actin and MT/tubulin, along with reduced levels of polymerized F-actin and MTs, were found in the hippocampus of alcohol-treated mice.
CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that chronic alcohol consumption disrupted the assembly of the actin cytoskeleton and MTs in the hippocampus, potentially contributing to the cognitive deficits and pathological injury induced by chronic alcohol intoxication.