Caveolin-1 may be a new target for interfering with age-dependent decline in synaptic plasticity.
To explore the relationship between synaptic plasticity in the aging process and changes in learning and memory, Dr. Yang Liu and coworkers from the First Affiliated Hospital, Dalian Medical University, China examined synaptophysin expression in the hippocampus, cortex and cerebellum of rats at different ages, and analyzed the association between synaptophysin expression and cognition and behaviors.
Results showed that caveolin-1 and synaptophysin declined with age in the hippocampus, and synaptophysin levels were strongly associated with age-related memory impairment.
The researchers have provided the first direct demonstration that caveolin-1 protein expression changes in an age-dependent manner.
Synaptophysin revealed a similar expression pattern to that of caveolin-1 in the hippocampus, cortex and cerebellum.
This new notion might be helpful in strategic decision-making and preventing aging-induced loss of synaptic plasticity.
The relevant study was published in Neural Regeneration Research (Vol. 8, No. 29, 2013).