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European Journal of Nutrition

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23-10-2023 | Folic Acid | Original Contribution

Folic acid alleviated oxidative stress-induced telomere attrition and inhibited apoptosis of neurocytes in old rats

Authors: Dezheng Zhou, Yue Sun, Cuixia Dong, Zehao Wang, Jing Zhao, Zhenshu Li, Guowei Huang, Wen Li

Published in: European Journal of Nutrition | Issue 1/2024

Abstract

Purpose

Oxidative stress has been reported to cause telomere attrition, which triggers cell apoptosis. Apoptosis of neurocytes may play an essential role in the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative diseases. This study hypothesized that folic acid (FA) supplementation decreased neurocyte apoptosis by alleviating oxidative stress-induced telomere attrition in 25-month-old Sprague Dawley (SD) rats.

Methods

Three-month-old male SD rats were randomly divided into four diet groups by different concentrations of folic acid in equal numbers, with intervention for 22 months. Folate, homocysteine (Hcy), reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels, antioxidant activities, and telomere length in the brain tissues were tested at 11, 18, and 22 months of intervention, and 8-hydroxy-deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG) levels, neurocyte apoptosis and telomere length in the cerebral cortex and hippocampal regions were tested during the 22-month intervention. An automated chemiluminescence system, auto-chemistry analyzer, Q-FISH, qPCR, and TUNEL assay were used in this study.

Results

The rats had lower folate concentrations and higher Hcy, ROS, and 8-OHdG concentrations in brain tissue with aging. However, FA supplementation increased folate concentrations and antioxidant activities while decreasing Hcy, ROS, and 8-OHdG levels in rat brain tissue after 11, 18, and 22 months of intervention. Furthermore, FA supplementation alleviated telomere length shortening and inhibited neurocyte apoptosis during the 22-month intervention.

Conclusion

FA supplementation alleviated oxidative stress-induced telomere attrition and inhibited apoptosis of neurocytes in 25-month-old rats.

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Title: Folic acid alleviated oxidative stress-induced telomere attrition and inhibited apoptosis of neurocytes in old rats
Authors: Dezheng Zhou
Yue Sun
Cuixia Dong
Zehao Wang
Jing Zhao
Zhenshu Li
Guowei Huang
Wen Li
Publication date: 23-10-2023
Publisher: Springer Berlin Heidelberg
Keyword: Folic Acid
Published in: European Journal of Nutrition / Issue 1/2024
Print ISSN: 1436-6207
Electronic ISSN: 1436-6215
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00394-023-03266-x

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