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Project description:Lifestyle-based interventions, including dietary modifications, can reduce dementia risk. In this regard, dietary supplementation with medium-chain triglycerides (MCT) shows promise against Alzheimer’s disease in humans. This effect is widely presumed to be mediated by hepatic conversion of MCT into circulating ketones. However, the physiological and cellular mechanisms underlying the benefits of MCT remain understudied, particularly in the context of Alzheimer’s disease. Here, we investigated the cellular and molecular changes occurring in the brain and systemically in response to dietary supplementation with MCT versus a classic ketogenic diet (KD). The experimental design consisted of comparing a 70% carbohydrate control diet to either a control diet supplemented with 10% MCT or a carbohydrate-free high fat KD. Diets were tested in two Alzheimer’s disease mouse models, slow-progressing 3xTg-AD mice that model pre-symptomatic/early stages and rapidly-progressing 5xFAD mice that model late stages of the disease. We found that MCT supplementation and KD both improved hippocampal-dependent spatial learning and memory, increased dendritic spine density of hippocampal neurons, and modulated hippocampal expression of genes associated with mitochondrial functions, synaptic structure, and insulin signaling in Alzheimer’s disease mouse models. However, unlike KD,MCT supplementation did not elevate circulating ketones, suggesting different mechanisms. Indeed, while MCT enhanced the peripheral insulin response of Alzheimer’s disease mice, KD conversely unveiled their latent metabolic vulnerability, increasing their hyperglycemia, body weight gain, and adiposity. The systemic metabolic disturbances of Alzheimer’s disease mice correlated with transcriptomic alterations in hepatic lipid metabolism and ketogenesis genes and increased lipid droplet accumulation. These liver metabolic abnormalities were partially reversed by both MCT supplementation and KD, but in distinct ways. Notably, KD selectively triggered hepatic neutral lipid depletion and prominent proinflammatory gene expression while MCT down-regulated expression of cholesterol-related genes. Collectively, these findings reveal that MCT supplementation in the context of Alzheimer’s disease improves cognition and systemic metabolism without elevating circulating ketone levels.
2025-08-11 | GSE273337 | GEO
Project description:Lifestyle-based interventions, including dietary modifications, can reduce dementia risk. In this regard, dietary supplementation with medium-chain triglycerides (MCT) shows promise against Alzheimer’s disease in humans. This effect is widely presumed to be mediated by hepatic conversion of MCT into circulating ketones. However, the physiological and cellular mechanisms underlying the benefits of MCT remain understudied, particularly in the context of Alzheimer’s disease. Here, we investigated the cellular and molecular changes occurring in the brain and systemically in response to dietary supplementation with MCT versus a classic ketogenic diet (KD). The experimental design consisted of comparing a 70% carbohydrate control diet to either a control diet supplemented with 10% MCT or a carbohydrate-free high fat KD. Diets were tested in two Alzheimer’s disease mouse models, slow-progressing 3xTg-AD mice that model pre-symptomatic/early stages and rapidly-progressing 5xFAD mice that model late stages of the disease. We found that MCT supplementation and KD both improved hippocampal-dependent spatial learning and memory, increased dendritic spine density of hippocampal neurons, and modulated hippocampal expression of genes associated with mitochondrial functions, synaptic structure, and insulin signaling in Alzheimer’s disease mouse models. However, unlike KD,MCT supplementation did not elevate circulating ketones, suggesting different mechanisms. Indeed, while MCT enhanced the peripheral insulin response of Alzheimer’s disease mice, KD conversely unveiled their latent metabolic vulnerability, increasing their hyperglycemia, body weight gain, and adiposity. The systemic metabolic disturbances of Alzheimer’s disease mice correlated with transcriptomic alterations in hepatic lipid metabolism and ketogenesis genes and increased lipid droplet accumulation. These liver metabolic abnormalities were partially reversed by both MCT supplementation and KD, but in distinct ways. Notably, KD selectively triggered hepatic neutral lipid depletion and prominent proinflammatory gene expression while MCT down-regulated expression of cholesterol-related genes. Collectively, these findings reveal that MCT supplementation in the context of Alzheimer’s disease improves cognition and systemic metabolism without elevating circulating ketone levels.
2025-08-11 | GSE286571 | GEO
Project description:Medium-chain triglycerides improve cognition and systemic metabolism in Alzheimer mice
| PRJNA1271131 | ENA
Project description:Medium-chain triglycerides improve cognition and systemic metabolism in Alzheimer mice I
| PRJNA1141441 | ENA
Project description:Medium-chain triglycerides improve cognition and systemic metabolism in Alzheimer mice II
| PRJNA1209942 | ENA
Project description:Medium Chain Triglycerides (MCT) is a dietary supplement and usually used along with medications for treating food absorption disorders including diarrhea, steatorrhea and liver disease. It has been shown that MCT plays a role in lowering weight, and decreasing metabolic syndrome, abdominal obesity and inflammation. However, it is still unknown whether MCT enhances exercise endurance. Here, we demonstrated that MCT containing diet improves high temperature induced exercise performance impairment. We found that MCT up-regulates the expression and protein levels of genes involved in mitochondrial biogenesis and metabolism. Further investigation demonstrated that the increased mitochondrial biogenesis and metabolism is mediated through the activation of Akt and AMPK signaling pathways and inhibition of TGF-β signaling pathway. Collectively, our findings indicate a beneficial effect of dietary MCT in exercise performance through the increase of mitochondrial biogenesis and metabolism.
| S-EPMC5805166 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Medium chain triglycerides (MCTs) are used to treat neurologic disorders with metabolic impairments, including childhood epilepsy and early Alzheimer's disease. However, the metabolic effects of MCTs in the brain are still unclear. Here, we studied the effects of feeding even and uneven MCTs on brain glucose metabolism in the mouse. Adult mice were fed 35% (calories) of trioctanoin or triheptanoin (the triglycerides of octanoate or heptanoate, respectively) or a matching control diet for 3 weeks. Enzymatic assays and targeted metabolomics by liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry were used to quantify metabolites in extracts from the hippocampal formations (HFs). Both oils increased the levels of β-hydroxybutyrate, but no other significant metabolic alterations were observed after triheptanoin feeding. The levels of glucose 6-phosphate and fructose 6-phosphate were increased in the HF of mice fed trioctanoin, whereas levels of metabolites further downstream in the glycolytic pathway and the pentose phosphate pathway were reduced. This indicates that trioctanoin reduces glucose utilization because of a decrease in phosphofructokinase activity. Trioctanoin and triheptanoin showed similar anticonvulsant effects in the 6 Hz seizure model, but it remains unknown to what extent the anticonvulsant mechanism(s) are shared. In conclusion, triheptanoin unlike trioctanoin appears to not alter glucose metabolism in the healthy brain.
| S-EPMC3887358 | biostudies-other
Project description:Brain glucose hypometabolism is a common feature of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Previous studies have shown that cognition is improved by providing AD patients with an alternate energy source: ketones derived from either ketogenic diet or supplementation with medium chain triglycerides (MCT). Recently, data on the neuroprotective capacity of MCT-derived medium chain fatty acids (MCFA) suggest 8-carbon and 10-carbon MCFA may have cognition-enhancing properties which are not related to ketone production. We investigated the effect of 8 week treatment with MCT8, MCT10 or sunflower oil supplementation (5% by weight of chow diet) in 21 month old Wistar rats. Both MCT diets increased ketones plasma similarly compared to control diet, but MCT diets did not increase ketones in the brain. Treatment with MCT10, but not MCT8, significantly improved novel object recognition memory compared to control diet, while social recognition increased in both MCT groups. MCT8 and MCT10 diets decreased weight compared to control diet, where MCFA plasma levels were higher in MCT10 groups than in MCT8 groups. Both MCT diets increased IRS-1 (612) phosphorylation and decreased S6K phosphorylation (240/244) but only MCT10 increased Akt phosphorylation (473). MCT8 supplementation increased synaptophysin, but not PSD-95, in contrast MCT10 had no effect on either synaptic marker. Expression of Ube3a, which controls synaptic stability, was increased by both MCT diets. Cortex transcription via qPCR showed that immediate early genes related to synaptic plasticity (arc, plk3, junb, egr2, nr4a1) were downregulated by both MCT diets while MCT8 additionally down-regulated fosb and egr1 but upregulated grin1 and gba2. These results demonstrate that treatment of 8- and 10-carbon length MCTs in aged rats have slight differential effects on synaptic stability, protein synthesis and behavior that may be independent of brain ketone levels.
| S-EPMC4982641 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Obesity can be associated with significant metabolic disorders. Our previous study found that medium-chain triglycerides (MCTs) improved lipid metabolism in obese rats. However, scant attention has been given to exploring the impact of MCTs on glucose metabolism in obese rats. This study is designed to examine the effects and mechanisms of three distinct MCTs on glucose metabolism in obese rats. To induce obesity, Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats were fed a high-fat diet, followed by a 12-week treatment with caprylic triglyceride (CYT), capric triglyceride (CT), and lauric triglyceride (LT). The results showed that three types of MCT intervention reduced the levels of lipids (TC, TG, LDL-c, and HDL-c), hyperglycemia, insulin resistance (insulin, OGTT, HOMA-IR, and ISI), and inflammatory markers (IL-4, IL-1β, and TNF-α) in obese rats (p < 0.01), The above parameters have been minimally improved in the high-fat restoring group (HR) group. MCTs can modulate the PI3K/AKT signaling pathways to alleviate insulin resistance and improve glucose metabolism in obese rats. Furthermore, MCTs can activate peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR) γ and reduce the phosphorylation of PPARγser237 mediated by CDK5, which can improve insulin sensitivity without lipid deposition in obese rats. Among the MCT group, CT administration performed the best in the above pathways, with the lowest blood glucose level and insulin resistance. These findings contribute to a deeper understanding of the connection between health benefits and the specific type of MCT employed.
| S-EPMC10815142 | biostudies-literature
Project description:The deterioration of brain glucose metabolism predates the clinical onset of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Medium-chain triglycerides (MCTs) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) positively improve brain glucose metabolism and decrease the expression of AD-related proteins. However, the effects of the combined intervention are unclear. The present study explored the effects of the supplementation of MCTs combined with DHA in improving brain glucose metabolism and decreasing AD-related protein expression levels in APP/PS1 mice. The mice were assigned into four dietary treatment groups: the control group, MCTs group, DHA group, and MCTs + DHA group. The corresponding diet of the respective groups was fed to mice from the age of 3 to 11 months. The results showed that the supplementation of MCTs combined with DHA could increase serum octanoic acid (C8:0), decanoic acid (C10:0), DHA, and β-hydroxybutyrate (β-HB) levels; improve glucose metabolism; and reduce nerve cell apoptosis in the brain. Moreover, it also aided with decreasing the expression levels of amyloid beta protein (Aβ), amyloid precursor protein (APP), β-site APP cleaving enzyme-1 (BACE1), and presenilin-1 (PS1) in the brain. Furthermore, the supplementation of MCTs + DHA was significantly more beneficial than that of MCTs or DHA alone. In conclusion, the supplementation of MCTs combined with DHA could improve energy metabolism in the brain of APP/PS1 mice, thus decreasing nerve cell apoptosis and inhibiting the expression of Aβ.
| S-EPMC10574179 | biostudies-literature