Krill Oil Attenuates Cognitive Impairment by the Regulation of Oxidative Stress and Neuronal Apoptosis in an Amyloid β-Induced Alzheimer’s Disease Mouse Model

Abstract

In the present study, we investigated the cognitive improvement effects and its mechanisms of krill oil (KO) in Aβ25–35-induced Alzheimer’s disease (AD) mouse model. The Aβ25–35-injected AD mouse showed memory and cognitive impairment in the behavior tests. However, the administration of KO improved novel object recognition ability and passive avoidance ability compared with Aβ25–35-injected control mice in behavior tests. In addition, KO-administered mice showed shorter latency to find the hidden platform in a Morris water maze test, indicating that KO improved learning and memory abilities. To evaluate the cognitive improvement mechanisms of KO, we measured the oxidative stress-related biomarkers and apoptosis-related protein expressions in the brain. The administration of KO inhibited oxidative stress-related biomarkers such as reactive oxygen species, malondialdehyde, and nitric oxide compared with AD control mice induced by Aβ25–35. In addition, KO-administered mice showed down-regulation of Bax/Bcl-2 ratio in the brain. Therefore, this study indicated that KO-administered mice improved cognitive function against Aβ25–35 by attenuations of neuronal oxidative stress and neuronal apoptosis. It suggests that KO might be a potential agent for prevention and treatment of AD.

Keywords

• Alzheimer’s disease
• amyloid beta
• cognition
• memory
• krill oil
• oxidative stress