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Dietary‐Induced Obesity Disturbs Iron Homeostasis and Alpha‐Synuclein Expression in C57BL/6J Mouse Brains
Author(s) -
Byrd Aria,
Plummer Justin,
Erikson Keith,
Han Jessica
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.29.1_supplement.920.7
Subject(s) - ferritin , striatum , alpha synuclein , hippocampus , medicine , endocrinology , biology , western blot , basal ganglia , obesity , chemistry , central nervous system , biochemistry , parkinson's disease , dopamine , gene , disease
Obesity has been linked with altered systemic iron biology and is a risk factor for neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson's. Given that the mishandling of brain iron is associated with neurodegenerative processes, we wanted to explore the relationship between obesity and brain iron biology. The objective of this study was to examine the effects of dietary‐induced obesity on brain iron, ferritin (a good indicator of iron biology) and alpha synuclein (a protein linked with neurodegenerative processes). Thirty C57BL/6J male mice were randomly assigned into 6 dietary groups with various amounts of fat (normal and high) and iron (low, normal and high) for 24 weeks. Brains were harvested and dissected into four iron rich regions (thalamus, striatum, midbrain and hippocampus) that are associated with neurodegenerative diseases. Total brain iron contents from these regions were quantified with atomic absorption spectrometry. Ferritin H (FtH) and alpha‐synuclean mRNA expression was measured with quantitative real‐time polymerase chain reaction analysis. FtH and alpha‐synuclein protein expressions were determined with western blot analysis. The high fat diet (HFD) significantly altered brain regional iron concentrations compared to the control fat group, in the midbrain and striatum. This is in conjunction with changes in FtH and alpha‐synuclein expressions. The changes observed in brain iron biology due to obesity were limited to the basal ganglia and were not present in the hippocampus. These data imply specific neurodegenerative etiologies in different brain regions.