The Methylglyoxal/RAGE/NOX-2 Pathway is Persistently Activated in the Hippocampus of Rats with STZ-Induced Sporadic Alzheimer’s Disease

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the leading cause of dementia in humans, with a high social and economic cost. AD is predominantly a sporadic disease, and the intracerebroventricular (ICV) administration of streptozotocin (STZ) has been widely used as an AD-like model of dementia. While the etiology of AD remains unknown, changes such as glucose metabolism and activation of receptors for advanced glycation end products (RAGE) seem to underlie its pathogenesis. We hypothesized that methylglyoxal, an endogenous toxin derived from the glycolytic pathway, could be the precursor of advanced glycated end products that activates RAGE and that, consequently, may activate membrane NADPH oxidase (NOX), contributing to the inflammatory status of the model and the disease. We administered ICV-STZ to Wistar rats and evaluated several neurochemical parameters in the hippocampus, particularly glyoxalase 1 (GLO-1) activity, which serves as an index of high levels of methylglyoxal, and the contents of RAGE and NOX-2, the most abundant brain NOX isoform. At the times evaluated (4 and 24 weeks after STZ), we observed cognitive deficit, increased beta-amyloid content, and increased tau phosphorylation. A persistent increase in GLO-1 activity was found, as well as increases in RAGE and NOX-2 contents, suggesting astroglial and microglial commitment. The increase in NOX-2 may reflect elevated microglial activity (confirmed by IBA-1 marker), which may contribute to the synaptic dysfunction and pruning described in the literature, both in this model and AD patients. Furthermore, reinforcing this possibility, we found a reduction in cholinergic communication in the hippocampus (as shown by decreased choline acetyltransferase), a reduction in BDNF, and an increase in TGF-β, the combination of which may result in synaptic deterioration.