Neuroprotective Actions of Dietary Choline

Choline is an essential nutrient for humans. It is a precursor of membrane phospholipids (e.g., phosphatidylcholine (PC)), the neurotransmitter acetylcholine, and via betaine, the methyl group donor -adenosylmethionine. High choline intake during gestation and early postnatal development in rat and...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Nutrients 2017-07, Vol.9 (8), p.815
Main Authors: Blusztajn, Jan Krzysztof, Slack, Barbara E, Mellott, Tiffany J
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Acetylcholine
Adenosylmethionine
Alcohols
Alzheimer's disease
Animal models
Animals
autism
Betaine
Brain
Brain - drug effects
Brain - metabolism
Choline
Choline - administration & dosage
Choline - pharmacology
Cognition - drug effects
Cognitive ability
Deoxyribonucleic acid
Diet
Dietary intake
DNA
DNA methylation
Epilepsy
Fetal alcohol syndrome
Gene expression
Gestation
Humans
Learning
Lecithin
Memory
Neuroprotection
Neuroprotective Agents - administration & dosage
Neuroprotective Agents - pharmacology
nutrition
Phosphatidylcholine
Phospholipids
pregnancy
Proteins
Review
Rodents
S-Adenosylmethionine
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Summary:Choline is an essential nutrient for humans. It is a precursor of membrane phospholipids (e.g., phosphatidylcholine (PC)), the neurotransmitter acetylcholine, and via betaine, the methyl group donor -adenosylmethionine. High choline intake during gestation and early postnatal development in rat and mouse models improves cognitive function in adulthood, prevents age-related memory decline, and protects the brain from the neuropathological changes associated with Alzheimer's disease (AD), and neurological damage associated with epilepsy, fetal alcohol syndrome, and inherited conditions such as Down and Rett syndromes. These effects of choline are correlated with modifications in histone and DNA methylation in brain, and with alterations in the expression of genes that encode proteins important for learning and memory processing, suggesting a possible epigenomic mechanism of action. Dietary choline intake in the adult may also influence cognitive function via an effect on PC containing eicosapentaenoic and docosahexaenoic acids; polyunsaturated species of PC whose levels are reduced in brains from AD patients, and is associated with higher memory performance, and resistance to cognitive decline.
ISSN:2072-6643
2072-6643
DOI:10.3390/nu9080815