Post-weaning folate deficiency induces a depression-like state via neuronal immaturity of the dentate gyrus in mice
Folate deficiency has been suggested as a risk factor for depression in preclinical and clinical studies. Several hypotheses of mechanisms underlying folate deficiency-induced depressive symptoms have been proposed, but the detailed mechanisms are still unclear. In this study, we assessed whether po...
Saved in:
Main Authors: | , , , , , , , |
---|---|
Format: | Book |
Published: |
Elsevier,
2020-06-01T00:00:00Z.
|
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | Connect to this object online. |
Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
Summary: | Folate deficiency has been suggested as a risk factor for depression in preclinical and clinical studies. Several hypotheses of mechanisms underlying folate deficiency-induced depressive symptoms have been proposed, but the detailed mechanisms are still unclear. In this study, we assessed whether post-weaning folate deficiency affect neurological and psychological function. The low folate diet-fed mice showed depression-like behavior in the forced swim test. In contrast, spontaneous locomotor activity, social behavior, coordinated motor skills, anxiety-like behavior and spatial memory did not differ between control and low folate diet-fed mice. In the dentate gyrus (DG) of the hippocampus, decreased number of newborn mature neurons and increased number of immature neurons were observed in low folate diet-fed mice. Staining with Golgi-Cox method revealed that dendritic complexity, spine density and the number of mature spines of neurons were markedly reduced in the DG of low folate diet-fed mice. Stress response of neurons indicated as c-Fos expression was also reduced in the DG of low folate diet-fed mice. These results suggest that reduction in the degree of maturation of newborn hippocampal neurons underlies folate deficiency-induced depressive symptoms. |
---|---|
Item Description: | 1347-8613 10.1016/j.jphs.2020.02.007 |