Abstract
Dietary anthocyanins may slow cognitive decline, improve cognitive performance and exert neuroprotective effects against neurodegenerative disorders. However, the underlying mechanisms of their action are not fully understood. This study investigated the effects of 12-week anthocyanin-rich bilberry extract supplementation (0.02%) on global gene expression in the hippocampus of ApoE-/- mice to help the understanding of molecular mechanisms underlying anthocyanin neuroprotective effects. Gene expression analysis identified 1698 differently expressed genes, with 611 downregulated and 1087 upregulated genes. Bioinformatics revealed that these genes regulate different biological processes, including neurogenesis, inflammation, metabolism, cell to cell adhesion, cytoskeleton organization, and Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease pathology. The bioinformatic analysis also proposed potential miRNAs and transcription factors that could be involved in the mediation of these nutrigenomic effects. Results from molecular docking also suggested that anthocyanins could bind to top transcription factors with, as potential consequence, an impact on their gene expression regulation. Taken together, integrated analysis revealed a multi-target mode of action of anthocyanin-rich bilberry extract in the hippocampus underlying their neuroprotective properties.
Highlights
Polyphenols are the largest group of phytochemicals widely found in plant foods such as fruits, vegetables, and plant-derived beverages
This study aimed to investigate the effects of Journal of Functional Foods 85 (2021) 104609 anthocyanin-rich bilberry extract (BE) supplementation on the global gene expression in the hippocampus of ApoE-/- mice to help the under standing of molecular mechanisms related to the reported neuro protective effects of anthocyanin-rich food consumption
A comparison of gene expression profiles in the hippocampus of ApoE-/- mice fed the control or BE-supplemented diet by partial least squares-discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) showed a distinct separation between the two nutritional groups (Fig. 2)
Summary
Polyphenols are the largest group of phytochemicals widely found in plant foods such as fruits, vegetables, and plant-derived beverages. One of the most studied polyphenols are anthocyanins, plant pigments present in berries and berry-derived products that exert a va riety of biological activities, including different beneficial effects on brain function. Clinical trials suggest that both acute and long-term consumption of anthocyanin-rich berries could improve some aspects of cognitive function across different age groups (Bensalem et al, 2019; Hein, Whyte, Wood, Rodriguez-Mateos, & Williams, 2019; Travica et al, 2019). Anthocyanin extract was observed to improve learning and memory in mice after surgery and significantly reduced neuro inflammation and microglia activation (Zhang et al, 2020). In addition to memory and cognition benefits, sufficient evidence has shown neu roprotective effects of anthocyanins against neurodegenerative disor ders, including Alzheimer’s (AD) and PD (Winter & Bickford, 2019; Zhang et al, 2019; Li et al, 2020)
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