Affiliations: [a] Department of Pharmacology, Southern Illinois University School of Medicine, Springfield, IL, USA
| [b] Department of Neurology, Dale and Deborah Smith Center for Alzheimer’s Research and Treatment, Southern Illinois University School of Medicine, Springfield, IL, USA
| [c] Department of Medical Microbiology, Immunology and Cell Biology, Southern Illinois University School of Medicine, Springfield, IL, USA
Correspondence:
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Correspondence to: Shelley A. Tischkau, PhD, 801N. Rutledge, Room 3289, Springfield, IL 62794-9629, USA. Tel.: +1 217 840 6724; E-mail: stischkau@siumed.edu.
Abstract: Background:Chronic disruption of the circadian timing system, often reflected as a loss of restful sleep, also includes myriad other pathophysiological effects. Objective:The current study examined how chronic circadian disruption (CD) could contribute to pathology and rate of progression in the AβPP/PS1 mouse model of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Methods:A chronic CD was imposed until animals reached 6 or 12 months of age in AβPP/PS1 and C57BL/6J control mice. Home cage activity was monitored for a period of 3–4 weeks prior to the endpoint along with a single timepoint measure of glucose sensitivity. To assess long term effects of CD on the AD phenotype, animals were re-entrained to a no disruption (ND) schedule just prior to the endpoint, after which a Morris water maze (MWM) was used to assess spatial learning and memory. Results:Dampening of nighttime activity levels occurred in disrupted animals, and female animals demonstrated a greater adaptability to CD. Diminished arginine vasopressin (AVP) and vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) levels in the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) of 12-month male AβPP/PS1 exposed to the CD paradigm were observed, potentially accounting for the diminished re-entrainment response. Similarly, CD worsened performance in the MWM in 12-month male AβPP/PS1 animals, whereas no effect was seen in females. Conclusions:Collectively, these findings show that exposure to chronic CD impairs circadian behavioral patterns and cognitive phenotypes of AβPP/PS1 mouse model in a sex-dependent manner.
