High-Fat Diet Consumption Induces Neurobehavioral Abnormalities and Neuronal Morphological Alterations Accompanied by Excessive Microglial Activation in the Medial Prefrontal Cortex in Adolescent Mice
The association between a high-fat diet (HFD) consumption and emotional/cognitive disorders is widely documented. One distinctive feature of the prefrontal cortex (PFC), a kernel emotion- and cognition-related brain region, is its protracted adolescent maturation, which makes it highly vulnerable to...
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MDPI AG
2023-05-01
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| Series: | International Journal of Molecular Sciences |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/24/11/9394 |
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| author | Conghui Wang Hong Li Chen Chen Xiuting Yao Chenxi Yang Zhehao Yu Jiayi Ren Yue Ming Yi Huang Yi Rong Yu Ma Lijie Liu |
| author_facet | Conghui Wang Hong Li Chen Chen Xiuting Yao Chenxi Yang Zhehao Yu Jiayi Ren Yue Ming Yi Huang Yi Rong Yu Ma Lijie Liu |
| author_sort | Conghui Wang |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The association between a high-fat diet (HFD) consumption and emotional/cognitive disorders is widely documented. One distinctive feature of the prefrontal cortex (PFC), a kernel emotion- and cognition-related brain region, is its protracted adolescent maturation, which makes it highly vulnerable to the detrimental effects of environmental factors during adolescence. Disruption of the PFC structure and function is linked to emotional/cognitive disorders, especially those that emerge in late adolescence. A HFD consumption is common among adolescents, yet its potential effects on PFC-related neurobehavior in late adolescence and any related underlying mechanisms are yet to be established. In the present study, adolescent (postnatal days 28–56) male C57BL/6J mice were fed a control diet (CD) or a HFD and underwent behavioral tests in addition to Golgi staining and immunofluorescence targeting of the medial PFC (mPFC). The HFD-fed adolescent mice exhibited anxiety- and depression-like behavior and abnormal mPFC pyramidal neuronal morphology accompanied by alterations in microglial morphology indicative of a heightened state of activation and increased microglial PSD95<sup>+</sup> inclusions signifying excessive phagocytosis of the synaptic material in the mPFC. These findings offer novel insights into the neurobehavioral effects due to adolescent HFD consumption and suggest a contributing role in microglial dysfunction and prefrontal neuroplasticity deficits for HFD-associated mood disorders in adolescents. |
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| id | doaj.art-73aaef3da0b04d0b81588c1ba5a05152 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1661-6596 1422-0067 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T03:05:42Z |
| publishDate | 2023-05-01 |
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| series | International Journal of Molecular Sciences |
| spelling | doaj.art-73aaef3da0b04d0b81588c1ba5a051522023-11-18T07:58:24ZengMDPI AGInternational Journal of Molecular Sciences1661-65961422-00672023-05-012411939410.3390/ijms24119394High-Fat Diet Consumption Induces Neurobehavioral Abnormalities and Neuronal Morphological Alterations Accompanied by Excessive Microglial Activation in the Medial Prefrontal Cortex in Adolescent MiceConghui Wang0Hong Li1Chen Chen2Xiuting Yao3Chenxi Yang4Zhehao Yu5Jiayi Ren6Yue Ming7Yi Huang8Yi Rong9Yu Ma10Lijie Liu11Medical College, Southeast University, Nanjing 210009, ChinaSchool of Life Science and Technology, Southeast University, Nanjing 210009, ChinaMedical College, Southeast University, Nanjing 210009, ChinaMedical College, Southeast University, Nanjing 210009, ChinaMedical College, Southeast University, Nanjing 210009, ChinaMedical College, Southeast University, Nanjing 210009, ChinaMedical College, Southeast University, Nanjing 210009, ChinaMedical College, Southeast University, Nanjing 210009, ChinaMedical College, Southeast University, Nanjing 210009, ChinaMedical College, Southeast University, Nanjing 210009, ChinaMedical College, Southeast University, Nanjing 210009, ChinaJiangsu Provincial Key Laboratory of Critical Care Medicine, Department of Physiology, School of Medicine, Southeast University, Nanjing 210009, ChinaThe association between a high-fat diet (HFD) consumption and emotional/cognitive disorders is widely documented. One distinctive feature of the prefrontal cortex (PFC), a kernel emotion- and cognition-related brain region, is its protracted adolescent maturation, which makes it highly vulnerable to the detrimental effects of environmental factors during adolescence. Disruption of the PFC structure and function is linked to emotional/cognitive disorders, especially those that emerge in late adolescence. A HFD consumption is common among adolescents, yet its potential effects on PFC-related neurobehavior in late adolescence and any related underlying mechanisms are yet to be established. In the present study, adolescent (postnatal days 28–56) male C57BL/6J mice were fed a control diet (CD) or a HFD and underwent behavioral tests in addition to Golgi staining and immunofluorescence targeting of the medial PFC (mPFC). The HFD-fed adolescent mice exhibited anxiety- and depression-like behavior and abnormal mPFC pyramidal neuronal morphology accompanied by alterations in microglial morphology indicative of a heightened state of activation and increased microglial PSD95<sup>+</sup> inclusions signifying excessive phagocytosis of the synaptic material in the mPFC. These findings offer novel insights into the neurobehavioral effects due to adolescent HFD consumption and suggest a contributing role in microglial dysfunction and prefrontal neuroplasticity deficits for HFD-associated mood disorders in adolescents.https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/24/11/9394high-fat dietneuroplasticitymicrogliaadolescencemental disordersmPFC |
| spellingShingle | Conghui Wang Hong Li Chen Chen Xiuting Yao Chenxi Yang Zhehao Yu Jiayi Ren Yue Ming Yi Huang Yi Rong Yu Ma Lijie Liu High-Fat Diet Consumption Induces Neurobehavioral Abnormalities and Neuronal Morphological Alterations Accompanied by Excessive Microglial Activation in the Medial Prefrontal Cortex in Adolescent Mice International Journal of Molecular Sciences high-fat diet neuroplasticity microglia adolescence mental disorders mPFC |
| title | High-Fat Diet Consumption Induces Neurobehavioral Abnormalities and Neuronal Morphological Alterations Accompanied by Excessive Microglial Activation in the Medial Prefrontal Cortex in Adolescent Mice |
| title_full | High-Fat Diet Consumption Induces Neurobehavioral Abnormalities and Neuronal Morphological Alterations Accompanied by Excessive Microglial Activation in the Medial Prefrontal Cortex in Adolescent Mice |
| title_fullStr | High-Fat Diet Consumption Induces Neurobehavioral Abnormalities and Neuronal Morphological Alterations Accompanied by Excessive Microglial Activation in the Medial Prefrontal Cortex in Adolescent Mice |
| title_full_unstemmed | High-Fat Diet Consumption Induces Neurobehavioral Abnormalities and Neuronal Morphological Alterations Accompanied by Excessive Microglial Activation in the Medial Prefrontal Cortex in Adolescent Mice |
| title_short | High-Fat Diet Consumption Induces Neurobehavioral Abnormalities and Neuronal Morphological Alterations Accompanied by Excessive Microglial Activation in the Medial Prefrontal Cortex in Adolescent Mice |
| title_sort | high fat diet consumption induces neurobehavioral abnormalities and neuronal morphological alterations accompanied by excessive microglial activation in the medial prefrontal cortex in adolescent mice |
| topic | high-fat diet neuroplasticity microglia adolescence mental disorders mPFC |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/24/11/9394 |
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