Reduction of Endogenous Melatonin Accelerates Cognitive Decline in Mice in a Simulated Occupational Formaldehyde Exposure Environment

Yufei Mei, Chunli Duan, Xiaoxiao Li, Yun Zhao, Fenghua Cao, Shuai Shang, Shumao Ding, Xiangpei Yue, Ge Gao, Hui Yang, Luxi Shen, Xueyan Feng, Jianping Jia, Zhiqian Tong and Xu Yang
Additional contact information
Yufei Mei: Section of Environmental Biomedicine, Hubei Key Laboratory of Genetic Regulation and Integrative Biology, College of Life Sciences, Central China Normal University, Wuhan 430079, China
Chunli Duan: Department of Neuobiology, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100069, China
Xiaoxiao Li: Section of Environmental Biomedicine, Hubei Key Laboratory of Genetic Regulation and Integrative Biology, College of Life Sciences, Central China Normal University, Wuhan 430079, China
Yun Zhao: Section of Environmental Biomedicine, Hubei Key Laboratory of Genetic Regulation and Integrative Biology, College of Life Sciences, Central China Normal University, Wuhan 430079, China
Fenghua Cao: Section of Environmental Biomedicine, Hubei Key Laboratory of Genetic Regulation and Integrative Biology, College of Life Sciences, Central China Normal University, Wuhan 430079, China
Shuai Shang: Section of Environmental Biomedicine, Hubei Key Laboratory of Genetic Regulation and Integrative Biology, College of Life Sciences, Central China Normal University, Wuhan 430079, China
Shumao Ding: Section of Environmental Biomedicine, Hubei Key Laboratory of Genetic Regulation and Integrative Biology, College of Life Sciences, Central China Normal University, Wuhan 430079, China
Xiangpei Yue: Alzheimer’s Disease Center, Beijing Institute for Brain Disorders, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100069, China
Ge Gao: Department of Neuobiology, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100069, China
Hui Yang: Department of Neuobiology, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100069, China
Luxi Shen: Alzheimer’s Disease Center, Beijing Institute for Brain Disorders, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100069, China
Xueyan Feng: Alzheimer’s Disease Center, Beijing Institute for Brain Disorders, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100069, China
Jianping Jia: Alzheimer’s Disease Center, Beijing Institute for Brain Disorders, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100069, China
Zhiqian Tong: Alzheimer’s Disease Center, Beijing Institute for Brain Disorders, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100069, China
Xu Yang: Section of Environmental Biomedicine, Hubei Key Laboratory of Genetic Regulation and Integrative Biology, College of Life Sciences, Central China Normal University, Wuhan 430079, China

IJERPH, 2016, vol. 13, issue 3, 1-14

Abstract: Individuals afflicted with occupational formaldehyde (FA) exposure often suffer from abnormal behaviors such as aggression, depression, anxiety, sleep disorders, and in particular, cognitive impairments. Coincidentally, clinical patients with melatonin (MT) deficiency also complain of cognitive problems associated with the above mental disorders. Whether and how FA affects endogenous MT metabolism and induces cognitive decline need to be elucidated. To mimic occupational FA exposure environment, 16 healthy adult male mice were exposed to gaseous FA (3 mg/m 3 ) for 7 consecutive days. Results showed that FA exposure impaired spatial memory associated with hippocampal neuronal death. Biochemical analysis revealed that FA exposure elicited an intensive oxidative stress by reducing systemic glutathione levels, in particular, decreasing brain MT concentrations. Inversely, intraperitoneal injection of MT markedly attenuated FA-induced hippocampal neuronal death, restored brain MT levels, and reversed memory decline. At tissue levels, injection of FA into the hippocampus distinctly reduced brain MT concentrations. Furthermore, at cellular and molecular levels, we found that FA directly inactivated MT in vitro and in vivo . These findings suggest that MT supplementation contributes to the rescue of cognitive decline, and may alleviate mental disorders in the occupational FA-exposed human populations.

Keywords: formaldehyde (FA); melatonin (MT); oxidative stress; spatial memory; reactive oxygen species; l -glutathione (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2016
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