| First Author | Choi M | Year | 2021 |
| Journal | Mol Brain | Volume | 14 |
| Issue | 1 | Pages | 111 |
| PubMed ID | 34246283 | Mgi Jnum | J:311278 |
| Mgi Id | MGI:6726632 | Doi | 10.1186/s13041-021-00823-5 |
| Citation | Choi M, et al. (2021) Disruption of the astrocyte-neuron interaction is responsible for the impairments in learning and memory in 5XFAD mice: an Alzheimer's disease animal model. Mol Brain 14(1):111 |
| abstractText | The morphological dynamics of astrocytes are altered in the hippocampus during memory induction. Astrocyte-neuron interactions on synapses are called tripartite synapses. These control the synaptic function in the central nervous system. Astrocytes are activated in a reactive state by STAT3 phosphorylation in 5XFAD mice, an Alzheimer's disease (AD) animal model. However, changes in astrocyte-neuron interactions in reactive or resting-state astrocytes during memory induction remain to be defined. Here, we investigated the time-dependent changes in astrocyte morphology and the number of astrocyte-neuron interactions in the hippocampus over the course of long-term memory formation in 5XFAD mice. Hippocampal-dependent long-term memory was induced using a contextual fear conditioning test in 5XFAD mice. The number of astrocytic processes increased in both wild-type and 5XFAD mice during memory formation. To assess astrocyte-neuron interactions in the hippocampal dentate gyrus, we counted the colocalization of glial fibrillary acidic protein and postsynaptic density protein 95 via immunofluorescence. Both groups revealed an increase in astrocyte-neuron interactions after memory induction. At 24 h after memory formation, the number of tripartite synapses returned to baseline levels in both groups. However, the total number of astrocyte-neuron interactions was significantly decreased in 5XFAD mice. Administration of Stattic, a STAT3 phosphorylation inhibitor, rescued the number of astrocyte-neuron interactions in 5XFAD mice. In conclusion, we suggest that a decreased number of astrocyte-neuron interactions may underlie memory impairment in the early stages of AD. |
