Histone deacetylase 3 inhibition re-establishes synaptic tagging and capture in aging through the activation of nuclear factor kappa B

Aging is associated with impaired plasticity and memory. Altered epigenetic mechanisms are implicated in the impairment of memory with advanced aging. Histone deacetylase 3 (HDAC3) is an important negative regulator of memory. However, the role of HDAC3 in aged neural networks is not well established. Late long-term potentiation (late-LTP), a cellular correlate of memory and its associative mechanisms such as synaptic tagging and capture (STC) were studied in the CA1 area of hippocampal slices from 82–84 week old rats. Our findings demonstrate that aging is associated with deficits in the magnitude of LTP and impaired STC. Inhibition of HDAC3 augments the late-LTP and re-establishes STC. The augmentation of late-LTP and restoration of STC is mediated by the activation of nuclear factor kappa B (NFκB) pathway. We provide evidence for the promotion of associative plasticity in aged neural networks by HDAC3 inhibition and hence propose HDAC3 and NFκB as the possible therapeutic targets for treating age -related cognitive decline.