Ovariectomy and High Fat-Sugar-Salt Diet Induced Alzheimer's Disease/Vascular Dementia Features in Mice

Aging Dis. 2024 Oct 1;15(5):2284-2300. doi: 10.14336/AD.2024.03110.

Abstract

While the vast majority of Alzheimer's disease (AD) is non-familial, the animal models of AD that are commonly used for studying disease pathogenesis and development of therapy are mostly of a familial form. We aimed to generate a model reminiscent of the etiologies related to the common late-onset Alzheimer's disease (LOAD) sporadic disease that will recapitulate AD/dementia features. Naïve female mice underwent ovariectomy (OVX) to accelerate aging/menopause and were fed a high fat-sugar-salt diet to expose them to factors associated with increased risk of development of dementia/AD. The OVX mice fed a high fat-sugar-salt diet responded by dysregulation of glucose/insulin, lipid, and liver function homeostasis and increased body weight with slightly increased blood pressure. These mice developed AD-brain pathology (amyloid and tangle pathologies), gliosis (increased burden of astrocytes and activated microglia), impaied blood vessel density and neoangiogenesis, with cognitive impairment. Thus, OVX mice fed on a high fat-sugar-salt diet imitate a non-familial sporadic/environmental form of AD/dementia with vascular damage. This model is reminiscent of the etiologies related to the LOAD sporadic disease that represents a high portion of AD patients, with an added value of presenting concomitantly AD and vascular pathology, which is a common condition in dementia. Our model can, thereby, provide a valuable tool for studying disease pathogenesis and for the development of therapeutic approaches.

MeSH terms

  • Alzheimer Disease* / etiology
  • Alzheimer Disease* / metabolism
  • Alzheimer Disease* / pathology
  • Animals
  • Brain / metabolism
  • Brain / pathology
  • Dementia, Vascular* / etiology
  • Dementia, Vascular* / pathology
  • Diet, High-Fat* / adverse effects
  • Disease Models, Animal*
  • Female
  • Gliosis / pathology
  • Mice
  • Ovariectomy* / adverse effects
  • Sodium Chloride, Dietary / adverse effects

Substances

  • Sodium Chloride, Dietary

Grants and funding

This study was supported in part by the Israel Ministry of Science, Technology, and Space (3010853) Knowledge Center Program. Cognitive experiments were performed in the facilities of the “Hadassah BrainLabs - National Knowledge Center for Research in Brain Disorders” at the Hadassah Hebrew University Medical Center, and we thank Dr. Tzuri Lifschytz from “Hadassah BrainLabs for the service in the Behavioral tests.