Age-related differences in long-term memory performance and astrocyte morphology in rat hippocampus

IF 3.5 3区医学 Q2 GERIATRICS & GERONTOLOGY Neurobiology of Aging Pub Date : 2025-02-27 DOI:10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2025.02.006

Yandara A. Martins, Camila A.E.F. Cardinali, Andréa S. Torrão

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Abstract

Astrocytes are neuromodulator cells. Their complex and dynamic morphology regulates neuronal signaling, synaptic plasticity, and neurogenesis. The impact of aging on astrocyte morphology is still under ongoing debate. Therefore, this study aimed to characterize astrocyte morphology in the hippocampus of older rats. 2-, 18-, and 20-month-old male Wistar rats were submitted to the object recognition test to assess their short- and long-term memories. CA1, CA2, CA3, and the dentate gyrus were collected for immunohistochemistry analysis and glial fibrillary acid protein (GFAP) immunostaining. Our results indicate that 20-month-old rats did not recognize or discriminate the novel object in the long-term memory test. Also, GFAP staining was greater in the oldest group for all analyzed areas. Morphometric and fractal analysis indicated shorter branch lengths and smaller sizes for astrocytes of 20-month-old rats. Overall, our results suggest that 20-month-old rats have long-term memory impairment, increased GFAP staining, and astrocyte dystrophy. These age-related alterations in astrocyte morphology are a resource for future studies exploring the role of astrocytes in age-related cognitive decline and age-related diseases.

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大鼠海马长期记忆表现和星形胶质细胞形态的年龄相关性差异

星形胶质细胞是神经调节细胞。它们复杂而动态的形态调节着神经元信号、突触可塑性和神经发生。衰老对星形胶质细胞形态的影响仍在争论中。因此，本研究旨在表征老年大鼠海马的星形胶质细胞形态。2、18和20个月大的雄性Wistar大鼠接受了物体识别测试，以评估它们的短期和长期记忆。收集CA1、CA2、CA3和齿状回进行免疫组化分析和胶质原纤维酸蛋白（GFAP）免疫染色。结果表明，在长时记忆测试中，20月龄大鼠不能识别或区分新物体。此外，在所有分析区域中，最老组的GFAP染色更大。形态计量学和分形分析表明，20月龄大鼠星形胶质细胞分支长度较短，尺寸较小。总的来说，我们的结果表明，20月龄大鼠有长期记忆障碍，GFAP染色增加，星形胶质细胞营养不良。星形胶质细胞形态的这些与年龄相关的改变为未来研究星形胶质细胞在与年龄相关的认知能力下降和与年龄相关的疾病中的作用提供了资源。

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来源期刊

Neurobiology of Aging 医学-老年医学

CiteScore

8.40

自引率

2.40%

发文量

225

审稿时长

67 days

期刊介绍： Neurobiology of Aging publishes the results of studies in behavior, biochemistry, cell biology, endocrinology, molecular biology, morphology, neurology, neuropathology, pharmacology, physiology and protein chemistry in which the primary emphasis involves mechanisms of nervous system changes with age or diseases associated with age. Reviews and primary research articles are included, occasionally accompanied by open peer commentary. Letters to the Editor and brief communications are also acceptable. Brief reports of highly time-sensitive material are usually treated as rapid communications in which case editorial review is completed within six weeks and publication scheduled for the next available issue.