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Unacylated-Ghrelin Impairs Hippocampal Neurogenesis and Memory in Mice and Is Altered in Parkinson’s Dementia in Humans

Amanda Hornsby, Luke Buntwal, Carla Carisi, Vanessa V. Santos, Fionnuala Johnston, Luke Roberts, Martina Sassi, Mathieu Mequinion, Romana Stark, Alex Reichenbach, Sarah H. Lockie, Mario Siervo, Owain Howell Orcid Logo, Alwena Morgan Orcid Logo, Timothy Wells, Zane B. Andrews, David J. Burn, Jeffrey Davies Orcid Logo

Cell Reports Medicine, Volume: 1, Issue: 7, Start page: 100120

Swansea University Authors: Amanda Hornsby, Luke Buntwal, Carla Carisi, Luke Roberts, Martina Sassi, Owain Howell Orcid Logo, Alwena Morgan Orcid Logo, Jeffrey Davies Orcid Logo

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Abstract

Blood-borne factors regulate adult hippocampal neurogenesis and cognition in mammals. We report that elevating circulating unacylated-ghrelin (UAG), using both pharmacological and genetic methods, reduced hippocampal neurogenesis and plasticity in mice. Spatial memory impairments observed in ghrelin...

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Published in: Cell Reports Medicine
ISSN: 2666-3791
Published: Elsevier BV 2020
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URI: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa55678
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Abstract: Blood-borne factors regulate adult hippocampal neurogenesis and cognition in mammals. We report that elevating circulating unacylated-ghrelin (UAG), using both pharmacological and genetic methods, reduced hippocampal neurogenesis and plasticity in mice. Spatial memory impairments observed in ghrelin-O-acyl transferase-null (GOAT/) mice that lack acyl-ghrelin (AG) but have high levels of UAG were rescued by acyl-ghrelin. Acyl-ghrelin-mediated neurogenesis in vitro was dependent on non-cell-autonomous BDNF signaling that was inhibited by UAG. These findings suggest that post-translational acylation of ghrelin is important to neurogenesis and memory in mice. To determine relevance in humans, we analyzed circulating AG:UAG in Parkinson disease (PD) patients diagnosed with dementia (PDD), cognitively intact PD patients, and controls. Notably, plasma AG:UAG was only reduced in PDD. Hippocampal ghrelin-receptor expression remained unchanged; however, GOAT+ cell number was reduced in PDD. We identify UAG as a regulator of hippocampal-dependent plasticity and spatial memory and AG:UAG as a putative circulating diagnostic biomarker of dementia.
Keywords: ghrelin; GOAT; acyl-ghrelin; unacylated-ghrelin; AG:UAG; adult hippocampal neurogenesis; memory; BDNF; Parkinson disease dementia; biomarker
College: Faculty of Medicine, Health and Life Sciences
Issue: 7
Start Page: 100120