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Different subtypes of estrogen receptor α and related signal molecules in the hippocampus are associated with spatial cognitive impairment of diabetic mice

ZHANG Ming-Rui, QU Chao, SUN Jia, WANG Cui, LI Hong-Yan, ZHANG Ye-Jun, ZHANG Bing-Qiang, ZOU Wei

College of Life Science, Liaoning Normal University, Dalian 116081, China； Department of Neurology, Central Hospital of Dalian, Dalian 116033, China； The Key Laboratory of Cell Transplantation, Health Clinical Center of Ministry, Qingdao 266100, China； The 210th Hospital of PLA, Dalian 116021, China

Abstract

To study the correlation between the spatial cognitive impairment and different subtypes of estrogen receptor α (ERα) of hippocampus in diabetic mice, we used alloxan (intraperitoneal injection) to induce type 1 diabetes in male Kunming mice and compared the spatial cognitive ability of the model mice with that of control mice through Morris water maze test. Meanwhile, using Western blot, we detected the protein expressions of ER-α36, ER-α66, caveolin-1, PKCα, cAMP-response element binding protein 2 (CREB2), and synaptophysin (Syn) in the hippocampus of the mice. The results showed that on the 3rd and 5th days of training, the ability of spatial learning and memory in the diabetic mice was significantly inferior to that of the control mice (P < 0.05). In the diabetic mice, the protein expressions of caveolin-1 and PKCα were decreased (P < 0.05), but ER-α66 expression was unaffected, while ER-α36 and CREB2 expressions were significantly increased (P < 0.05) compared with those of the control mice. The results suggest that abnormal expression of ER-α36 and related signal molecules may be important factors for diabetes-induced spatial cognitive impairment.

Key words: Spatial learning and memory; estrogen receptor α ; diabetes ; spatial cognitive impairment

Received: 2016-10-11　　Accepted: 2017-02-24

Corresponding author: 邹伟　　E-mail: weizou60@126.com

Citing This Article：

ZHANG Ming-Rui, QU Chao, SUN Jia, WANG Cui, LI Hong-Yan, ZHANG Ye-Jun, ZHANG Bing-Qiang, ZOU Wei. Different subtypes of estrogen receptor α and related signal molecules in the hippocampus are associated with spatial cognitive impairment of diabetic mice. Acta Physiol Sin 2017; 69 (3): 252-260 (in Chinese with English abstract).