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Methylglyoxal mildly impairs spatial memory and reduces expression of excitatory synaptic genes in the hippocampus of male mice.

Created on 22 Aug 2026

Authors

Akane Nakao, Takumi Yokokawa, Fuminori Okazaki, Nobumasa Iwanaka, Kazuo Inoue, Tatsuya Hayashi, Tatsuro Egawa

Published in

Physiological reports. Volume 14. Issue 16. Pages e71077.

Abstract

Diabetes is associated with cognitive impairment and alterations in synaptic molecules; however, the factors within the diabetic milieu that drive these central changes remain unclear. Methylglyoxal (MG), a reactive dicarbonyl and major precursor of advanced glycation end products, accumulates under hyperglycemic and metabolically compromised conditions and is a candidate mediator of diabetic phenotypes. Here, we examined whether chronic MG exposure affects metabolism, behavior, and the expression of synaptic genes in the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex. Mice received MG in drinking water for 1 or 3 months, and then metabolic, behavioral, and biochemical analyses were performed. MG mildly impaired glucose clearance and induced insulin resistance, together with reduced adiposity in the 3-month intervention, indicating a disturbance of glucose and lipid metabolism. MG did not consistently affect anxiety-like behavior. In the Barnes maze test, MG mildly impaired spatial memory performance. In the hippocampus, MG selectively decreased the expression levels of the excitatory synaptic genes, whereas no gene was altered in the prefrontal cortex. These findings identify learning-associated excitatory synaptic genes as targets of chronic MG exposure and position MG as a candidate factor linking the diabetic metabolic state to hippocampal synaptic and cognitive alterations.

PMID:
42630003
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 22 Aug 2026.

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