Evidence that AKT and GSK-3β pathway are involved in acute hyperhomocysteinemia

Homocysteine is a neurotoxic amino acid that accumulates in several disorders including homocystinuria, neurodegenerative and neuroinflammatory diseases. In the present study we evaluated the effect of acute and chronic hyperhomocysteinemia on Akt, NF-κB/p65, GSK-3β, as well as Tau protein in hippocampus of rats. For acute treatment, rats received a single injection of homocysteine (0.6 μmol/g body weight) or saline (control). For chronic treatment, rats received daily subcutaneous injections of homocysteine (0.3–0.6 μmol/g body weight) or saline (control) from the 6th to the 28th days-of-age. One or 12 h after the last injection, rats were euthanized, the hippocampus was removed and samples were submitted to electrophoresis followed by Western blotting. Results showed that acute hyperhomocysteinemia increases Akt phosphorylation, cytosolic and nuclear immunocontent of NF-κB/p65 subunit and Tau protein phosphorylation, but reduces GSK-3β phosphorylation at 1 h after homocysteine injection. However, 12 h after acute hyperhomocysteinemia there is no effect on Akt and GSK-3β phosphorylation. Furthermore, chronic hyperhomocysteinemia did not alter Akt and GSK-3β phosphorylation at 1 h and 12 h after the last administration of this amino acid. Our data showed that Akt, NF-κB/p65, GSK-3β and Tau protein are activated in hippocampus of rats subjected to acute hyperhomocysteinemia, suggesting that these signaling pathways may be, at least in part, important contributors to the neuroinflammation and/or brain dysfunction observed in some hyperhomocystinuric patients.

► Acute hyperhomocysteinemia increases Akt and Tau protein phosphorylation in rat hippocampus.
► Acute hyperhomocysteinemia increases immunocontent of NF-κB/p65 in rat hippocampus.
► Acute hyperhomocysteinemia reduces GSK-3β phosphorylation in rat hippocampus.