High Methionine Diet-Induced Alzheimer's Disease like Symptoms Are Accompanied by 5-Methylcytosine Elevated Levels in the Brain

BACKGROUND: Excessive or insufficient intake of methionine (Met) causes neuronal dysfunction, neurodegeneration, cerebrovascular dysfunction, vascular leakage, and short-term memory loss, which result in the occurrence of Alzheimer's disease- (AD-) like symptoms. OBJECTIVE: To determine the relationship between high methionine diets (HMD) induced AD-like symptoms and 5-methylcytosine (5-mC) level. METHODS: C57BL/6J mice were randomly divided into two groups: the control group (Maintain diets) and the model group (2% HMD). Mice were fed with 2% HMD for 9 weeks. Animals were weighed and food intake was recorded weekly. Open field test, nesting ability test, Y maze test, new object recognition test, and Morris water maze test were used to detect the motor, learning, and memory ability. Hematoxylin-eosin (HE) staining was used to observe the damage of cells in hippocampus and cortex. Immunofluorescence (IF) staining was used to detect the expression and distribution of amyloid-β 1-40 (Aβ(1-40)), amyloid-β 1-42 (Aβ(1-42)), and 5-methylcytosine (5-mC) in hippocampus and cortex. Western blotting (WB) was used to determine the expression of Aβ and DNA methyltransferases- (DNMTs-) related proteins in the cortex. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was performed to detect homocysteine (Hcy) level (ELISA). RESULTS: Feeding of HMD decreased the body weight and food intake of mice. Behavioral testing revealed that HMD caused learning, memory, and motor ability impairment in the mice. HE staining results showed that HMD feeding caused damage of hippocampal and cortical neurons, along with disordered cell arrangement, and loss of neurons. Furthermore, HMD increased the contents of Aβ(1-40), Aβ(1-42), and 5-mC in the hippocampus and cortex. WB results showed that HMD increased the expression of Aβ production-related proteins, such as amyloid precursor protein (APP) and beta-secretase 1 (BACE1), and decreased the expression of Aβ metabolism-related protein in the cortex, including insulin-degrading enzyme (IDE) and neprilysin (NEP). Additionally, the decreased expression of DNA methyltransferase1 (DNMT1) was observed in HMD-treated mice, but there was no significant change of DNMT3a level. ELISA results showed that HMD increased the levels of Hcy in serum. CONCLUSION: Our result suggested that the HMD can cause neurotoxicity, leading to AD-like symptoms in mice, which may be related to 5-mC elevated.