The effects of Dietary Fat and iron interaction on Brain regional iron contents and stereotypical Behaviors in Male c57Bl/6J Mice

UNCG Author/Contributor (non-UNCG co-authors, if there are any, appear on document)
Keith M. Erikson, Associate Professor and Director of Graduate Studies (Creator)
Institution
The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG )
Web Site: http://library.uncg.edu/

Abstract: Adequate brain iron levels are essential for enzyme activities, myelination, and neurotransmittersynthesis in the brain. Although systemic iron deficiency has been foundin genetically or dietary-induced obese subjects, the effects of obesity-associated irondysregulation in brain regions have not been examined. The objective of this study wasto examine the effect of dietary fat and iron interaction on brain regional iron contents andregional-associated behavior patterns in a mouse model. Thirty C57BL/6J male weanlingmice were randomly assigned to six dietary treatment groups (n = 5) with varyingfat (control/high) and iron (control/high/low) contents. The stereotypical behaviors weremeasured during the 24th week. Blood, liver, and brain tissues were collected at the endof the 24th week. Brains were dissected into the hippocampus, midbrain, striatum, andthalamus regions. Iron contents and ferritin heavy chain (FtH) protein and mRNA expressionsin these regions were measured. Correlations between stereotypical behaviors andbrain regional iron contents were analyzed at the 5% significance level. Results showedthat high-fat diet altered the stereotypical behaviors such as inactivity and total distancetraveled (P < 0.05). The high-fat diet altered brain iron contents and FtH protein andmRNA expressions in a regional-specific manner: (1) high-fat diet significantly decreasedthe brain iron content in the striatum (P < 0.05), but not other regions, and (2) thalamushas a more distinct change in FtH mRNA expression compared with other regions.Furthermore, high-fat diet resulted in a significant decreased total distance traveled anda significant correlation between iron content and sleeping in midbrain (P < 0.05). Dietaryiron also decreased brain iron content and FtH protein expression in a regionally specificmanner. The effect of interaction between dietary fat and iron was observed in brain ironcontent and behaviors. All these findings will lay foundations to further explore the linksamong obesity, behaviors, and brain iron alteration.

Additional Information

Publication
Frontiers in Nutr., Animal Nutr and Metab.Vol. 3 Article 20.
Language: English
Date: 2016
Keywords
behavior, brain, iron, high-fat diet, ferritin-H

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