A high-sugar high-fat diet induced metabolic syndrome shows some symptoms of Alzheimer's disease in rats

Cases of sporadic Alzheimer's disease (SAD) are the predominant form of the age-related dementia. New evidence suggests that metabolic syndrome (MS), a metabolic disorder, is an initiating factor of some SAD cases. A high-sugar high-fat diet could cause MS, we aimed to investigate whether it could directly lead to SAD. The characteristic molecules of AD (hippocampus A beta and Tau) were tested by using ELISA and western blotting to confirm the happening hallmarks of AD in brain. MS and inflammation related biochemical indicators were measured using immunological method. Proteins associated with the insulin resistance signal pathway (JNK, PI-3K, AKT, GSK-3 beta, GLUT3) were evaluated using western blotting method. The levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS) were measured by immunofluorescence method. Expressions of hippocampus A beta, phosphorylation-Tau (p-Tau), inflammatory factors and p-JNK, Gsk-3 beta were higher in the model rats than those in the control rats and expressions of p-PI3K, p-AKT and GLUT3 were reversed. The MS model animals, which can induce the characteristics symptoms of AD, and therefore it may be preliminarily considered that the AD pertains to the MS-related diseases.