ggti-2133 and Cognition-Disorders

Synaptic impairment rather than neuronal loss may be the leading cause of cognitive dysfunction in brain aging. Certain small Rho-GTPases are involved in synaptic plasticity, and their dysfunction is associated with brain aging and neurodegeneration. Rho-GTPases undergo prenylation by attachment of geranylgeranylpyrophosphate (GGPP) catalyzed by GGTase-I. We examined age-related changes in the abundance of Rho and Rab proteins in membrane and cytosolic fractions as well as of GGTase-I in brain tissue of 3- and 23-month-old C57BL/6 mice. We report a shift in the cellular localization of Rho-GTPases toward reduced levels of membrane-associated and enhanced cytosolic levels of those proteins in aged mouse brain as compared with younger mice. The age-related reduction in membrane-associated Rho proteins was associated with a reduction in GGTase-Iβ levels that regulates binding of GGPP to Rho-GTPases. Proteins prenylated by GGTase-II were not reduced in aged brain indicating a specific targeting of GGTase-I in the aged brain. Inhibition of GGTase-I in vitro modeled the effects of aging we observed in vivo. We demonstrate for the first time a decrease in membrane-associated Rho proteins in aged brain in association with down-regulation of GGTase-Iβ. This down-regulation could be one of the mechanisms causing age-related weakening of synaptic plasticity.

Topics: Aging; Alkyl and Aryl Transferases; Animals; cdc42 GTP-Binding Protein; Cell Line, Tumor; Cerebrum; Cognition Disorders; Gene Expression Regulation, Enzymologic; Humans; Imidazoles; Leucine; Male; Membrane Proteins; Mice; Mice, Inbred C57BL; Naphthalenes; Nerve Tissue Proteins; Neuroblastoma; Protein Prenylation; rab GTP-Binding Proteins; rac1 GTP-Binding Protein; rho GTP-Binding Proteins; rhoA GTP-Binding Protein; RNA, Messenger; Synaptic Membranes; Synaptic Transmission; Terpenes