Early Effect of Amyloid β-Peptide on Hippocampal and Serum Metabolism in Rats Studied by an Integrated Method of NMR-Based Metabolomics and ANOVA-Simultaneous Component Analysis

Amyloid β (Aβ) deposition has been implicated in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease. However, the early effect of Aβ deposition on metabolism remains unclear. In the present study, thus, we explored the metabolic changes in the hippocampus and serum during first 2 weeks of Aβ (25–35) injection in rats by using an integrated method of NMR-based metabolomics and ANOVA-simultaneous component analysis (ASCA). Our results show that Aβ (25–35) injection, time, and their interaction had statistically significant effects on the hippocampus and serum metabolome. Furthermore, we identified key metabolites that mainly contributed to these effects. After Aβ (25–35) injection from 1 to 2 weeks, the levels of lactate, N-acetylaspartate, creatine, and taurine were decreased in rat hippocampus, while an increase in lactate and decreases in LDL/VLDL and glucose were observed in rat serum. Therefore, we suggest that the reduction in energy and lipid metabolism as well as an increase in anaerobic glycolysis may occur at the early stage of Aβ (25–35) deposition.