利用基因芯片检测大鼠衰老相关的记忆障碍的调控基因(英文)

Identification of genes associated with age-related memory impairment in rats

许多证据表明,正常衰老过程伴随着记忆力的衰退.但有些动物却不表现出这种年龄相关的记忆障碍.为了检测其中的分子机制,将24个月的老年大鼠按在水迷宫中的行为表现分成记忆损伤组和记忆未损伤组,分别取海马和内嗅皮层进行基因芯片检测.结果显示,在海马和内嗅皮层中分别有47和37个基因的表达发生了显著变化.但两个脑区的基因表达变化模式却有明显的不同.对差异表达的基因进行功能分析,主要是与结构组织、突触传递、信号转导、转录及免疫和氧化信号相关的基因.这些基因和信号通路可能在记忆的调控过程中起重要作用.该结果为进一步揭示衰老相关的记忆衰退过程的分子机制提供了重要的信息.

A large body of evidence indicates that memory impairment is associated with normal aging. Interestingly, some older individuals do not show any memory loss. To understand the molecular mechanisms of the age-related memory disorder, gene expression profiles of hippocampus and entorhinal cortex from 24-month-old memory-impaired and memory-unimpaired rats that were divided based on their performance in Morris water maze were examined using high-density DNA microarrays. The results demonstrated that 47 genes in the hippocampus and 37 genes in the entorhinal cortex showed dynamic changes in their expression levels. Surprisingly, the overall patterns of gene expression changes in these two brain regions were significantly different. Nevertheless, a number of key genes involved in structure organization, neurotransmission, signaling transduction, transcription, immunity and oxidative signaling were differently expressed in both brain regions. These genes and signal pathways may play essential roles in the regulation of memory. Our results provided important information for understanding the molecular mechanism of age-related memory impairment.