| First Author | Schommer J | Year | 2018 |
| Journal | Front Neurosci | Volume | 12 |
| Pages | 552 | PubMed ID | 30127714 |
| Mgi Jnum | J:309753 | Mgi Id | MGI:6759585 |
| Doi | 10.3389/fnins.2018.00552 | Citation | Schommer J, et al. (2018) Palmitic Acid-Enriched Diet Increases alpha-Synuclein and Tyrosine Hydroxylase Expression Levels in the Mouse Brain. Front Neurosci 12:552 |
| abstractText | Background: Accumulation of the alpha-synuclein (alpha-syn) protein and depletion of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra are hallmarks of Parkinson's disease (PD). Currently, alpha-syn is under scrutiny as a potential pathogenic factor that may contribute to dopaminergic neuronal death in PD. However, there is a significant gap in our knowledge on what causes alpha-syn to accumulate and dopaminergic neurons to die. It is now strongly suggested that the nature of our dietary intake influences both epigenetic changes and disease-related genes and may thus potentially increase or reduce our risk of developing PD. Objective: In this study, we determined the extent to which a 3 month diet enriched in the saturated free fatty acid palmitate (PA) influences levels of alpha-syn and tyrosine hydroxylase, the rate limiting enzyme in dopamine synthesis in mice brains. Methods: We fed the m-Thy1-alphaSyn (m-Thy1) mouse model for PD and its matched control, the B6D2F1/J (B6D2) mouse a PA-enriched diet or a normal diet for 3 months. Levels of alpha-syn, tyrosine hydroxylase, and the biogenic amines dopamine and dopamine metabolites, serotonin and noradrenaline were determined. Results: We found that the PA-enriched diet induces an increase in alpha-syn and TH protein and mRNA expression levels in m-Thy1 transgenic mice. We also show that, while it didn't affect levels of biogenic amine content in the B6D2 mice, the PA-enriched diet significantly reduces dopamine metabolites and increases the level of serotonin in m-Thy1 mice. Conclusion: Altogether, our results demonstrate that a diet rich in the saturated fatty acid palmitate can modulate levels of alpha-syn, TH, dopamine, and serotonin which all are proteins and neurochemicals that play key roles in increasing or reducing the risk for many neurodegenerative diseases including PD. |
