[Gly(14)]-Humanin improved the learning and memory impairment induced by scopolamine in vivo.
Mamiya. T T; Ukai. M M
Key Findings
- [Gly(14)]-humanin reversed scopolamine‑induced memory deficits in a mouse Y‑maze test
- The effect was seen with a single intracerebroventricular dose (1000 pmol)
- The results suggest humanin may act on cholinergic pathways that affect learning and memory
Practical Outcomes
- At this stage the finding is not actionable for self‑experimenters because it requires invasive brain injection and has only been shown in mice. More research is needed to determine if oral or peripheral dosing works in humans and whether it truly benefits cognition.
Summary
A modified version of the tiny protein humanin helped mice recover short‑term memory loss caused by a drug that blocks acetylcholine, but it was given directly into the brain, which isn’t practical for people.
Abstract
Humanin is a very recently discovered 24 amino acid linear polypeptide, which protects against cell death induced by either familial Alzheimer's disease mutant of amyloid precursor protein, presenilin-1 or presenilin-2 in vitro. However, it has remained uncertain whether humanin is a useful drug for the animal model of learning and memory deficit. In this study, we evaluated the effects of [Gly(14)]-humanin, a more potent humanin analogue, on the scopolamine HBr (1 mg kg(-1) s.c.)-induced impairment of spontaneous alternation behaviour in the Y-maze, an index of short-term memory in mice. [Gly(14)]-Humanin (1000 pmol 5 microl(-1) i.c.v.) reversed the impairment without affecting the number of arm entries. These results suggest that (I) [Gly(14)]-humanin is a beneficial drug for the impairment of learning and memory and (II) it modulates the learning and memory function mediated via cholinergic systems in mice.
Study Information
pubmed
2001
2001-12-01T00:00:00.000Z
10.1038/sj.bjp.0704429
117
13