Distinct effect of potassium 2-(l-hydroxypentyl) - benzoate on hippocampal neurons, synapses and dystrophic axons in APP/PS1 mice

OBJECTIVE To study the protective effect of potassium 2-(l-hydroxypentyl)-benzoate(PHPB) on hippocampal neurons,synapses and dystrophic axons in APP/PS1 mice.METHODS Ten-month-old male APP/PS1 transgenic mice and age-matched wild-type mice were randomly divided into three groups:wild-type group(WT Con group,n=10),APP/PS1 group(Tg Con group,n=10) and PHPB treated APP/PS1 group(PHPB group,n=10).PHPB group received 30 mg · kg-1 PHPB by oral gavage once daily for 3 months.WT Con group and Tg Con group received the same volume of water.Three months later,mice were sacrificed for biochemical and pathological testing such as transmission electron microscopy,Golgi staining and Western boltting analysis.RESULTS Under the transmission electron microscope,most hippocampal neurons and subcel ular organel es in WT Con group exhibited normal morphology.However,the degenerative changes were observed in Tg Con group such as nuclear fragmentation,mitochondrial swelling,ribosomes detachment and autophagic vacuoles accumulation.The hippocampal synapses number and the thickness of postsynaptic density(PSD) were significantly decreased in Tg Con group compared with the WT Con group(P<0.05).After PHPB treatment,the degenerative changes in APP/PS1 mice were alleviated to some extent.The synapse number has been elevated significantly(P<0.05) and the PSD has been thickened as well.Golgi staining showed that the spine density of secondary and tertiary apical dendritic branches was significantly decreased in CA1 and DG areas of Tg Con group(P<0.05).Sholl analysis revealed a decrease of dendritic complexity in Tg Con group compared with WT Con group(P<0.05).These abnormalities were alleviated to some extent after PHPB treatment.Western blotting study showed that the protein levels of synaptic marker PSD-95 and synaptophysin were significantly decreased in the hippocampus of Tg Con group(P<0.05).A significant increase of PSD-95(P<0.05) and a slight increase of SYP were observed after the PHPB treatment.Besides,we found a significant increase in the ratio of LC3-Ⅱ/LC3-Ⅰ in Tg Con group compared with the WT Con group(P<0.01) and the relevant improvement after PHPB treatment(P<0.05),which showed the regulatory effect of PHPB on autophagy impairment.CONCLUSION PHPB showed protective effects on hippocampal neurons,synapses and dystrophic axons in APP/PS1 mice,which might help explain its role on cognitive improvement in Alzheimer disease treatment.