Dietary Advanced Glycation End Products Induced Anxiety- and Depression-like Behaviors in Female C57BL/6 Mice and the Ameliorative Effects of Quercetin.
📄 Abstract
Quercetin is a flavonoid bioactive compound with potential anti-depression effect. Dietary advanced glycation end products (AGEs) might be critically associated with depression. We aimed to explore whether quercetin ameliorates dietary AGEs-induced anxiety and depression-like behaviors in female mice, with a focus on hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis (HPA) regulation and gut microbiota composition. Mice were divided into three groups: control, dietary AGEs, and AGEs plus quercetin. Dietary AGEs induced anxiety and depression-like behavioral effects, reduced BDNF, P-CREB, PSD95, doublecortin, and synaptophysin protein expression. Dietary AGEs induced HPA axis overactivation has been confirmed by decreased hippocampal GR, P-GR S211, and arginase-1, and elevated FKBP51, NLRP3, caspase-1, and p65 protein expression. Dietary AGEs resulted in gut microbiota disorder and correlation analysis revealed significant associations between Proteobacteria, the [Eubacterium] coprostanoligenes group, Klebsiella and Lachnospiraceae_NK4A136_group with behavioral parameters. Quercetin intervention improved dietary AGEs associated anxiety and depression-like behavioral effects via restoring HPA axis and gut microbiota.