Supplementation with complex milk lipids during brain development promotes neuroplasticity without altering myelination or vascular density

Abstract

BackgroundSupplementation with complex milk lipids (CML) during postnatal brain development has been shown to improve spatial reference learning in rats.ObjectiveThe current study examined histo-biological changes in the brain following CML supplementation and their relationship to the observed improvements in memory.DesignThe study used the brain tissues from the rats (male Wistar, 80 days of age) after supplementing with either CML or vehicle during postnatal day 10–80. Immunohistochemical staining of synaptophysin, glutamate receptor-1, myelin basic protein, isolectin B-4, and glial fibrillary acidic protein was performed. The average area and the density of the staining and the numbers of astrocytes and capillaries were assessed and analysed.ResultsCompared with control rats, CML supplementation increased the average area of synaptophysin staining and the number of GFAP astrocytes in the CA3 sub-region of the hippocampus (p<0.01), but not in the CA4 sub-region. The supplementation also led to an increase in dopamine output in the striatum that was related to nigral dopamine expression (p<0.05), but did not alter glutamate receptors, myelination or vascular density.ConclusionCML supplementation may enhance neuroplasticity in the CA3 sub-regions of the hippocampus. The brain regions-specific increase of astrocyte may indicate a supporting role for GFAP in synaptic plasticity. CML supplementation did not associate with postnatal white matter development or vascular remodelling.

Role of Sphingolipids in Infant Gut Health and Immunity

“…60 Systemic Effects of SL Details in this area are outside the scope of this article. An interesting example is that polar lipids in milk were shown to increase neuronal plasticity in the brain of rats 61 and improve spatial memory learning, which could be linked to astrocyte and synaptic functions in a region of the hippocampus. Cognitive behavior improved in a small pilot study of SM-fortified milk in low birth-weight infants.…”

The Role of Gangliosides in Neurodevelopment

“…In a recent study designed to probe the possible mechanisms through which ganglioside/CML supplementation might improve spatial learning and memory in postnatal rats, as observed in an earlier trial [ 137 ], our group found that CML supplementation (1% w/w of diet) may enhance neuroplasticity in the CA3 hippocampal region of young normal rats during development, possibly through enhanced synaptogenesis [ 151 ]. Our data also indicated that improved cognitive function of CML supplementation did not associate with either vascular remodeling or glutamatergic neuroplasticity in the hippocampus, striatum, and frontal cortex of young normal rats but may be associated with changes in the nigral-striatal dopaminergic pathway, which also plays a key role in learning and memory.…”

Dietary supplementation with bovine-derived milk fat globule membrane lipids promotes neuromuscular development in growing rats

“…Gelatin cubes were used for administration of the dietary supplements, which were formulated using raspberry flavouring and gelatin (10% w/v) containing sucrose (10% w/v) as previously described [32, 33, 36, 44]. Briefly, the MFGM mixtures were dissolved in water using a food processor and were then mixed with 1 L of gelatin/sucrose mixture at 50 °C.…”

“…Three different MFGM mixtures were tested; they were administered at various absolute doses so as to match the administered amount of gangliosides (GD3), an established brain bioactive molecule [35]. The bovine-derived MFGM supplements tested included a complex milk lipid (CML) mixture (reported previously in [33, 35, 44]), beta serum concentrate (BSC) (reported previously in 32) and a polar-lipid-enriched complex milk lipid concentrate (CMLc, “PGC80”) that lacks an MFGM protein component (reported previously in 36). The dose of CML used and the standardised ganglioside concentration were based on our previously published study in which developing rats received dietary supplementation with CML containing 5.9% gangliosides, at a dose of 1% w/w of dietary intake [35].…”