Inhibitors of class 1 histone deacetylases reverse contextual memory deficits in a mouse model of Alzheimer's disease.

ABSTRACT: Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disorder characterized clinically by cognitive impairments that progress to dementia and death. The earliest symptoms of AD present as a relatively pure deficit in memory retrieval. Therefore, drug treatments that intervene in the early stages of AD by rescuing memory deficits could be promising therapies to slow, or even reverse progression of the disease. In this study, we tested the potential of systemic histone deacetylase inhibitor (HDACi) treatment to rescue cognitive deficits in a mouse model of AD. APPswe/PS1dE9 mice showed pronounced contextual memory impairments beginning at 6 months of age. Chronic HDACi injections (2-3 weeks) did not alter contextual memory formation in normal mice, but had profound effects in transgenic animals.

SUBMITTER: Kilgore M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3055373 | biostudies-literature | 2010 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature