TY - JOUR
T1 - Copolymer-1 enhances cognitive performance in young adult rats
AU - Nieto-Vera, Rossana
AU - Kahuam-López, Nicolas
AU - Meneses, Alfredo
AU - Cruz-Martínez, Yolanda
AU - Anaya-Jiménez, Rosa María
AU - Liy-Salmerón, Gustavo
AU - Carvajal, Horacio Guillermo
AU - Ponce-López, Maria Teresa
AU - Ibarra, Antonio
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2018 Nieto-Vera et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
PY - 2018/3/1
Y1 - 2018/3/1
N2 - Cognitive impairment is a dysfunction observed as a sequel of various neurodegenerative diseases, as well as a concomitant element in the elderly stages of life. In clinical settings, this malfunction is identified as mild cognitive impairment. Previous studies have suggested that cognitive impairment could be the result of a reduction in the expression of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and/or immune dysfunction. Copolymer-1 (Cop-1) is an FDA-approved synthetic peptide capable of inducing the activation of Th2/3 cells, which are able to release BDNF, as well as to migrate and accumulate in the brain. In this study, we evaluated the effect of Cop-1 immunization on improvement of cognition in adult rats. For this purpose, we performed four experiments. We evaluated the effect of Cop-1 immunization on learning/ memory using the Morris water maze for spatial memory and autoshaping for associative memory in 3- or 6-month-old rats. BDNF concentrations at the hippocampus were determined by ELISA. Cop-1 immunization induced a significant improvement of spatial memory and associative memory in 6-month-old rats. Likewise, Cop-1 improved spatial memory and associative memory when animals were immunized at 3 months and evaluated at 6 months old. Additionally, Cop-1 induced a significant increase in BDNF levels at the hippocampus. To our knowledge, the present investigation reports the first instance of Cop-1 treatment enhancing cognitive function in normal young adult rats, suggesting that Cop-1 May be a practical therapeutic strategy potentially useful for age- or disease-related cognitive impairment.
AB - Cognitive impairment is a dysfunction observed as a sequel of various neurodegenerative diseases, as well as a concomitant element in the elderly stages of life. In clinical settings, this malfunction is identified as mild cognitive impairment. Previous studies have suggested that cognitive impairment could be the result of a reduction in the expression of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and/or immune dysfunction. Copolymer-1 (Cop-1) is an FDA-approved synthetic peptide capable of inducing the activation of Th2/3 cells, which are able to release BDNF, as well as to migrate and accumulate in the brain. In this study, we evaluated the effect of Cop-1 immunization on improvement of cognition in adult rats. For this purpose, we performed four experiments. We evaluated the effect of Cop-1 immunization on learning/ memory using the Morris water maze for spatial memory and autoshaping for associative memory in 3- or 6-month-old rats. BDNF concentrations at the hippocampus were determined by ELISA. Cop-1 immunization induced a significant improvement of spatial memory and associative memory in 6-month-old rats. Likewise, Cop-1 improved spatial memory and associative memory when animals were immunized at 3 months and evaluated at 6 months old. Additionally, Cop-1 induced a significant increase in BDNF levels at the hippocampus. To our knowledge, the present investigation reports the first instance of Cop-1 treatment enhancing cognitive function in normal young adult rats, suggesting that Cop-1 May be a practical therapeutic strategy potentially useful for age- or disease-related cognitive impairment.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85042939327&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1371/journal.pone.0192885
DO - 10.1371/journal.pone.0192885
M3 - Artículo
C2 - 29494605
AN - SCOPUS:85042939327
SN - 1932-6203
VL - 13
JO - PLoS ONE
JF - PLoS ONE
IS - 3
M1 - e0192885
ER -