Unraveling the Role of Inwardly Rectifying Potassium Channels in the Hippocampus of an Aβ(1–42)-Infused Rat Model of Alzheimer’s Disease

Biomedicines

Enes Akyuz¹  Merve Beker²  Birsen Elibol²  Chiara Villa³ 

[1] Department of Biophysics, Faculty of Medicine, Yozgat Bozok University, Yozgat 66100, Turkey;Department of Medical Biology, Faculty of Medicine, Bezmialem Vakif University, Istanbul 34093, Turkey;School of Medicine and Surgery, University of Milano-Bicocca, 20900 Monza, Italy;

关键词: alzheimer’s disease;    amyloid beta;    hippocampus;    kir channels;    k⁺ channels;   

DOI  :  10.3390/biomedicines8030058

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder with a complex etiology and characterized by cognitive deficits and memory loss. The pathogenesis of AD is not yet completely elucidated, and no curative treatment is currently available. Inwardly rectifying potassium (Kir) channels are important for playing a key role in maintaining the resting membrane potential and controlling cell excitability, being largely expressed in both excitable and non-excitable tissues, including neurons. Accordingly, the aim of the study is to investigate the role of neuronal Kir channels in AD pathophysiology. The mRNA and protein levels of neuronal Kir2.1, Kir3.1, and Kir6.2 were evaluated by real-time PCR and Western blot analysis from the hippocampus of an amyloid-β(Aβ)_(1-42)-infused rat model of AD. Extracellular deposition of Aβ was confirmed by both histological Congo red staining and immunofluorescence analysis. Significant decreased mRNA and protein levels of Kir2.1 and Kir6.2 channels were observed in the rat model of AD, whereas no differences were found in Kir3.1 channel levels as compared with controls. Our results provide in vivo evidence that Aβ can modulate the expression of these channels, which may represent novel potential therapeutic targets in the treatment of AD.

【 授权许可】

Unknown