Intraneuronal accumulation of amyloid β (iAβ) has been linked to mild cognitive impairment that may precede Alzheimer’s disease (AD) onset. This neuropathological trait was recently mimicked in a novel animal model of AD, the hemizygous transgenic McGill-R-Thy1-APP (Tg+/-) rat. The characterization of the behavioral phenotypes in this animal model could provide a baseline of efficacy for earlier therapeutic interventions. The aim of the present study was to undertake a longitudinal study of Aβ accumulation and a comprehensive behavioral evaluation of this transgenic rat model. We assessed exploratory activity, anxiety-related behaviors, recognition memory, working memory, spatial learning and reference memory at 3, 6 and 12 months of age. In parallel, we measured Aβ by ELISA, Western blots and semiquantitative immunohistochemistry in hippocampal samples. SDS-soluble Aβ peptide accumulated at low levels (~9 pg/mg) without differences among ages. However, Western blots showed SDS-resistant Aβ oligomers (~30 kDa) at 6 and 12 months, but not at 3 months. When compared to wild-type (WT), male Tg+/- rats exhibited a spatial reference memory deficit in the Morris Water Maze (MWM) as early as 3 months of age, which persisted at 6 and 12 months. In addition, Tg+/- rats displayed a working memory impairment in the Y-maze and higher anxiety levels in the Open Field (OF) at 6 and 12 months of age, but not at 3 months. Exploratory activity in the OF was similar to that of WT at all time points. Spatial learning in the MWM and the recognition memory, as assessed by the Novel Object Recognition Test, were unimpaired at any time point. The data from the present study demonstrate that the hemizygous transgenic McGill-R-Thy1-APP rat has a wide array of behavioral and cognitive impairments from young adulthood to middle-age. The low Aβ burden and early emotional and cognitive deficits in this transgenic rat model supports its potential use for drug discovery purposes in early AD.

Addiction to major drugs of abuse such as cocaine has been recently linked to alterations on adult neurogenesis in the hippocampus. The endogenous cannabinoid system modulated this proliferative response since pharmacological activation/blockade of cannabinoid CB1 and CB2 receptors by modulating not only neurogenesis but also cell death in the brain. In the present study, we evaluated whether the endogenous cannabinoid system affects cocaine-induced alterations in cell proliferation . To this end we examined if pharmacological blockade of either CB1 (Rimonabant, 3 mg/kg) or CB2 receptors (AM630, 3 mg/kg) affects cell proliferation (labeled with BrdU), found in the subventricular zone (SVZ) of the lateral ventricles and the dentate subgranular zone (SGZ). In addition, we measured cell apoptosis (monitored by the expression of cleaved caspase-3) and glial activation ( by analizing the expression of GFAP and Iba-1) in the striatum and hippocampus, during acute or repeated (4 days) cocaine administration (20 mg/kg). Results showed that acute cocaine decreased the number of BrdU+ cells in SVZ and SGZ. In contrast, repeated cocaine reduced the number of BrdU+ cells in SVZ only. Both acute and repeated cocaine increased the number of cleaved caspase-3+, GFAP+ and Iba1+ cells in the hippocampus, an effect counteracted by AM630 or Rimonabant that increased the number of BrdU+, GFAP+ and Iba1+ cells in the hippocampus. These results indicate that changes on neurogenic, apoptotic and gliosis processes, which were produced as a consequence of repeated cocaine administration, were normalized by the pharmacological blockade of CB1 and CB2. The restoring effects of cannabinoid receptor blockade on hippocampal cell proliferation were associated with a prevention of the induction of conditioned locomotion, but not of cocaine-induced sensitization.

Oleoylethanolamide (OEA) is an agonist of the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor α (PPARα) and has been described to exhibit neuroprotective p