Choline is an essential nutrient that is vital to human health. It plays a role in the production of acetylcholine, a neurotransmitter involved in memory, muscle control and mood. This collaborative work, examining the molecular processes of aging at the systems level, adds to the growing body of evidence surrounding the importance of dietary choline in healthy aging. It was found that many organs, whose dysfunction can impact brain health, were adversely affected by a choline-deficient diet.
Choline also helps build cell membranes and regulate gene expression. Choline, a critical nutrient produced in the liver and found in foods such as eggs, broccoli, beans, meat and poultry, is vital for human health. Lack of adequate choline is also associated with profound changes in the brain associated with Alzheimer’s disease [AD] to protect the brain from neurodegeneration and age-related cognitive decline.to protect the brain from neurodegeneration and cognitive age-related decline. These include pathologies involved in the development of two classic features of the disease, amyloid plaques, which accumulate in the intercellular spaces between neurons, and tau tangles, which condense within the neuronal bodies.
Choline is a vital nutrient for brain and body health. A new study suggests that insufficient choline can lead to pathologies in the heart and liver and is associated with the development of two features of Alzheimer’s disease. The new research, led by scientists at the University of Arizona, describes pathologies in normal mice deprived of nutritional of choline as well as in choline-deficient transgenic mice, which already show symptoms associated with the disease. In both cases, dietary choline deficiency results in liver damage, heart enlargement, and neurological alterations in AD mice that typically accompany Alzheimer’s disease[AD], including increased levels of the plaque-forming protein amyloid-beta and disease-associated alterations in tau protein.
Further, the study shows that choline deficiency in mice causes significant weight gain and changes in glucose metabolism (linked to conditions such as diabetes) and deficits in motor skills. In the case of humans, there is a double problem. First, they do not reach the adequate daily intake of choline, and second, there is a vast literature showing that the recommended daily amounts are not optimal for brain-related functions. Adequate choline in the diet reduces levels of the amino acid homocysteine, which has been identified as a neurotoxin that contributes to neurodegeneration and is important in mediating functions such as learning and memory, through the production of acetylcholine.
The growing awareness of the importance of choline should encourage all adults to ensure proper choline intake. This is especially true for those following plant-based diets, which may be low in natural choline, since foods high in choline are eggs, meats, and poultry. Plant-based foods rich in choline, such as soybeans and Brussels sprouts can help boost choline in these cases. In addition, inexpensive, over-the-counter choline supplements are encouraged to ensure system-wide health and protect the brain from the effects of neurodegeneration.
Choline is essential for the production of acetylcholine, a neurotransmitter that plays an essential role in memory, muscle control and mood. Choline also builds cell membranes and helps regulate gene expression. The established recommendations made by the Institute of Medicine were based on evidence that it prevents fatty liver disease. New lines of evidence suggest that the established recommended daily intake of dietary choline for adult women (425 mg/day) and adult men (550 mg/day) may not be optimal for proper brain health and cognitive function.
In Alzheimer’s disease [AD], the accumulation of sticky protein fragments outside neurons (amyloid-β plaques) and the accumulation of an abnormal form of tau protein inside the neuronal bodies are recognized hallmarks of the disease [neurodegeneration, damage and destruction of of neurons].
Plaques impair cell-to-cell communications, while tangles block the transport of vital nutrients needed for proper cell function and survival. New study highlights effects of low dietary choline on brain and other organs in mice .Low dietary choline is associated with obesity, liver pathology, and megacardia.. Choline deficiency was also shown to correlate with pathologies associated with Alzheimer’s disease [AD], and mice low in choline performed poorly in motor skills test.
In addition to amyloid-beta plaques and neurofibrillary tangles, the disease causes cell death in the brain and increases cognitive decline. The current work also found dysregulation of proteins in the hippocampus, a key structure affected in Alzheimer’s disease linked to learning and memory. Both normal and mice to protect the brain from neurodegeneration and age-related cognitive decline. showed dysregulated proteins in the hippocampus with a choline-deficient diet, with the AD model showing severe effects. Once the disease causes observable symptoms, silently destroys the brain for 20 years or more.
Many factors contribute to the development of Alzheimer’s disease [AD], from genetic predisposition to age, lifestyle and environmental influences. For reasons that remain unknown, females face an increased risk of developing the disease. Recent studies have identified the nutrition as an important factor related to the prevention of cognitive decline. mice fed a choline-rich diet, their offspring showed improvements in spatial memory, compared to a normal choline regimen in utero.
Interestingly, the beneficial effects of choline supplementation are that they protect not only the mice supplemented during pregnancy and lactation, but also the subsequent offspring. Later studies showed that choline administered to female mice throughout lifeyielded improvements in spatial memory, compared to those given a regular choline regimen.
In the new study of transgenic mice showing symptoms of Alzheimer’s [AD], those exposed to a choline-deficient diet showed weight gain and adverse effects on their metabolism, while liver damage and heart enlargement were observed.
Increased soluble, oligomeric, and insoluble amyloid-beta proteins were detected as well as modifications in the tau protein characteristic of those that lead to neurofibrillary tangles in the brain.
Additionally, choline-deficient mice performed poorly on a test of motor skills, compared to mice that received sufficient
choline in their diet The study also included a detailed exploration of proteins in the hippocampus, an area of the brain strongly affected by Alzheimer’s disease, as well as proteins detected in the blood. Dietary choline deficiency significantly altered hippocampal networks.
These pathologies include disruption of pathways related to microtubule function and postsynaptic membrane regulation—both essential for proper brain function. In the blood, proteins produced in the liver that play a role in metabolic function were particularly dysregulated with the choline-deficient diet. Dietary choline intake is essential to prevent organ pathology and to protect the brain from neurodegeneration and age-related cognitive decline.
The findings provide further support that dietary choline should be consumed on a daily basis. Finally, the controlled human clinical trials will be necessary to determine efficacy and appropriate doses of choline.
SOURCE: Aging Cell 2023
