Ghrelin directly stimulates adult hippocampal neurogenesis: implications for learning and memory

Endocrine Journal

Jong Hoon Ryu³  Masayasu Kojima¹  Takahiro Sato¹  Hyunju Chung⁴  Endan Li²  Dong Hyun Kim³  Yumi Kim²  Seungjoon Park² 

[1] Department of Molecular Genetics, Institute of Life Science, Kurume University, Fukuoka, Japan;Department of Pharmacology and Medical Research Center for Bioreaction to ROS and Biomedical Science Institute, School of Medicine, Kyung Hee University, Seoul, Koera;Department of Oriental Pharmaceutical Science and Kyung Hee East-West Pharmaceutical Research Institute, College of Pharmacy, Kyung Hee University, Seoul, Korea;Department of Core Research Laboratory, Clinical Research Institute, Kyung Hee University Hospital at Gangdong, Seoul, Korea

关键词: Ghrelin;    Hippocampus;    Neurogenesis;    Learning;    Memory;   

DOI  :  10.1507/endocrj.EJ13-0008

学科分类：内分泌与代谢学

来源: Japan Endocrine Society

【 摘 要 】

References(29)Cited-By(21)Adult hippocampal neurogenesis is important in mediating hippocampal-dependent learning and memory. Exogenous ghrelin is known to stimulate progenitor cell proliferation in the dentate gyrus of adult hippocampus. The aim of this study was to investigate the role of endogenous ghrelin in regulating the in vivo proliferation and differentiation of the newly generating cells in the adult hippocampus using ghrelin knockout (GKO) mice. Targeted deletion of ghrelin gene resulted in reduced numbers of progenitor cells in the subgranular zone (SGZ) of the hippocampus, while ghrelin treatment restored progenitor cell numbers to those of wild-type controls. We also found that not only the number of bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU)-positive cells but also the fraction of immature neurons and newly generated neurons were decreased in the GKO mice, which were increased by ghrelin replacement. Additionally, in the GKO mice, we observed impairment of memory performance in Y-maze task and novel object recognition test. However, these functional deficiencies were attenuated by ghrelin administration. These results suggest that ghrelin directly induces proliferation and differentiation of adult neural progenitor cells in the SGZ. Our data suggest ghrelin may be a plausible therapeutic potential to enhance learning and memory processes.

【 授权许可】

Unknown