BackgroundL-methionine, the principal sulfur-containing amino acid in proteins, plays critical roles in cell physiology as an antioxidant and in the breakdown of fats and heavy metals. Previous studies suggesting the use of L-methionine as a treatment for depression and other diseases indicate that it might also improve memory and propose a role in brain function. However, some evidence indicates that an excess of methionine can be harmful and can increase the risk of developing Type-2 diabetes, heart diseases, certain types of cancer, brain alterations such as schizophrenia, and memory impairment.ResultsHere, we report the effects of an L-methionine-enriched diet in wild-type mice and emphasize changes in brain structure and function. The animals in our studypresented 1) higher levels of phosphorylated tau protein, 2) increased levels of amyloid-β (Aβ)-peptides, including the formation of Aβ oligomers, 3) increased levels of inflammatory response,4) increased oxidative stress, 5) decreased level of synaptic proteins, and 6) memory impairment and loss. We also observed dysfunction of the Wnt signaling pathway.ConclusionTaken together, the results of our study indicate that an L-methionine-enriched diet causes neurotoxic effects in vivo and might contribute to the appearance of Alzheimer’s-like neurodegeneration.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13024-015-0057-0) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Wnt/β-catenin signalling is an important pathway that regulates multiple biological processes, including cell adhesion and determination of cell fate during animal development; in the adult nervous system it regulates the structure and function of synapses. Wnt-signalling dysfunction is associated with several neurodegenerative diseases such as schizophrenia and Alzheimer's disease. The use of natural compounds is an interesting strategy in the search for drugs with the therapeutic potential to activate this signalling pathway. In the present study, we report that andrographolide (ANDRO), a component of Andrographis paniculata, is a potent activator of Wnt signalling. Our results indicate that ANDRO activates this pathway, inducing the transcription of Wnt target genes by a mechanism that bypasses Wnt ligand binding to its receptor. In vitro kinase assays demonstrate that ANDRO inhibits glycogen synthase kinase (GSK)-3β by a non-ATP-competitive, substrate-competitive mode of action. In silico analyses suggest that ANDRO interacts with the substrate-binding site of GSK-3β. Finally, we demonstrated that the increase seen in the levels of GSK-3β phosphorylated at Ser⁹ is the result of an autoregulatory mechanism of the kinase in vivo, although not through activation of protein phosphatase type 1. Our results suggest that ANDRO could be used as a potential therapeutic drug for disorders caused by Wnt-signalling dysfunction such as neurodegenerative diseases.

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Social isolation is considered a stressful situation that results in increased physiological reactivity to novel stimuli, altered behaviour, and impaired brain function. Here, we investigated the effects of long-term social isolation on working memory, spatial learning/memory, hippocampal synaptic transmission, and synaptic proteins in the brain of adult female and male Octodon degus. The strong similarity between degus and humans in social, metabolic, biochemical, and cognitive aspects, makes it a unique animal model that can be highly applicable for further social, emotional, cognitive, and aging studies. These animals were socially isolated from post-natal and post-weaning until adulthood. We also evaluated if re-socialization would be able to compensate for reactive stress responses in chronically stressed animals. We showed that long-term social isolation impaired the HPA axis negative feedback loop, which can be related to cognitive deficits observed in chronically stressed animals. Notably, re-socialization restored it. In addition, we measured physiological aspects of synaptic transmission, where chronically stressed males showed more efficient transmission but deficient plasticity, as the reverse was true on females. Finally, we analysed synaptic and canonical Wnt signalling proteins in the hypothalamus, hippocampus, and prefrontal cortex, finding both sex- and brain structure-dependent modulation, including transient and permanent changes dependent on stress treatment.

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