S-adenosylmethionine and S-adenosylhomocysteine levels in the aging brain of APP/PS1 Alzheimer mice

Neurol Sci. 2009 Oct;30(5):439-45. doi: 10.1007/s10072-009-0110-2. Epub 2009 Jun 30.

Abstract

Hyperhomocysteinemia and factors of homocysteine metabolism, S-adenosylhomocysteine (AdoHcy) and S-adenosylmethionine (AdoMet), may play a role in Alzheimer's disease (AD). With liquid-chromatography-tandem-mass-spectrometry AdoMet and AdoHcy were determined in brains of 8- and 15-month-old APP/PS1 Alzheimer mice, and their possible roles in AD brains investigated. The finding that AdoMet levels do not differ between the genotypes in (young) 8-month-old mice, but are different in (older) 15-month-old APP/PS1 mice compared to their wild-type littermates, suggests that alterations in AdoMet are a consequence of AD pathology rather than a cause. During aging, AdoMet levels decreased in the brains of wild-type mice, whereas AdoHcy levels diminished in both wild type and APP/PS1 mice. The finding that AdoMet levels in APP/PS1 mice are not decreased during aging (in contrast to wild-type mice), is probably related to less demand due to neurodegeneration. No effect of the omega-3 fatty acid docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) or cholesterol-enriched diets on AdoMet or AdoHcy levels were found.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Age Factors
  • Aging*
  • Alzheimer Disease / genetics
  • Alzheimer Disease / pathology*
  • Amyloid beta-Protein Precursor / genetics
  • Analysis of Variance
  • Animals
  • Brain / metabolism*
  • Chromatography, Liquid / methods
  • Disease Models, Animal
  • Humans
  • Mice
  • Mice, Transgenic
  • Presenilin-1 / genetics
  • S-Adenosylhomocysteine / metabolism*
  • S-Adenosylmethionine / metabolism*
  • Tandem Mass Spectrometry / methods

Substances

  • Amyloid beta-Protein Precursor
  • Presenilin-1
  • S-Adenosylmethionine
  • S-Adenosylhomocysteine