P2.25. SWEET CONSEQUENCES: UNRAVELING THE IMPACT OF DIETARY SUGAR ON WEIGHT GAIN AND COGNITIVE FUNCTION IN MICE
Jakub Chwastek1, Piotr Bartochowski2, Bartosz Zglinicki1,2, Olga Pietrzyk1, Gabriela Olech-Kochańczyk2, Aleksandra Bartelik3, Marek Kochańczyk4, Anna Konopka1, Anna Kiryk2, Witold Konopka1,2
1 Łukasiewicz Research Network - PORT Polish Center for Technology Development, Wrocław, Poland
2 Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw, Poland
3 International Clinical Research Center, St. Anne's University Hospital Brno, Brno, Czech Republic
4 Institute of Fundamental Technological Research, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw, Poland
INTRODUCTION: Obesity is a global pandemic associated with an increased risk of life-limiting conditions such as metabolic syndrome. Two primary factors are widely considered to contribute to the development of obesity: unrestricted access to highly palatable foods and a sedentary lifestyle. Numerous studies also indicate a link between obesity and cognitive impairment, although the underlying mechanisms remain unclear.
AIM(S): Designing a behavioral test to detect subtle cognitive changes in mice subjected to different diets. The proposed test is based on a complex task and avoids the use of aversive or appetitive stimuli, in order to eliminate confounding stress or nutritional influences.
METHOD(S): Mice were fed one of four diets for eight weeks: standard (STAND), high sugar (HSD), high fat (HFD), or ketogenic (KD), characterized by progressively altered metabolized energy from carbohydrates or fats. Moreover, dietery sugar content followed a U-shaped pattern, the highest in HSD and HFD. Afterward, mice underwent a Thirst-Based Cognitive Test in the IntelliCage system, requiring corner visits in a set order ‒ clockwise or counterclockwise ‒ to gain access to plain water. Performance was measured as the ratio of correct to total number of visits.
RESULTS: At baseline, there were no significant differences in body weight among the groups. After eight weeks, the HSD and HFD groups displayed clear signs of obesity compared to the STAND group. Performance in the thirst-based cognitive test varied by diet; mice in the HSD and HFD groups demonstrated impaired learning of the complex spatial task compared to the control group.
CONCLUSIONS: A short-term dietary intervention of eight weeks was sufficient to impair performance on a cognitively demanding task in mice fed HSD and HFD diets. These findings suggest that elevated dietary sugar intake correlates with deficits in cognitive function.
FINANCIAL SUPPORT: This work was supported by the ANIMOD project within the Team Tech Core Facility Plus program of the Foundation for Polish Science, co-financed by the European Union under the European Regional Development Fund and by National Science Centre (OPUS) grant 2019/35/B/NZ4/02831 (to W.K.).