Glucose signaling in the brain and periphery to memory

• Published in: Neuroscience and biobehavioral reviews 2020-03, Vol.110, p.100-113
• Main Authors: Hossain, Md Shamim, Oomura, Yutaka, Fujino, Takehiko, Akashi, Koichi
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Alzheimer Disease - metabolism; Alzheimer Disease - physiopathology; Animals; BDNF; Brain - physiology; Brain - physiopathology; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 - metabolism; Epigenetics; FGF-1; Glucose; Glucose - metabolism; Humans; Incretins; Memory; Memory - physiology; Signal Transduction - physiology; Vagus nerve
• ISSN: 0149-7634; 1873-7528
• DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2019.03.018

•Glucose affects cell-specific epigenetic regulation of memory-related genes such as Bdnf and Fgf-1.•Glucose-mediated secretion of gut hormones may induce vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) to enhance memory processes in brain.•A cross talk between glucose-mediated memory and the diabetic pathology.•Some common pathologies among diabetes and Alzheimer’s disease. Glucose has many diverse physiological roles such as energy metabolism, appetite control and memory consolidation. We recently reported that memory-related gene expression is epigenetically controlled in murine brain cells and that glucose can regulate gene expression in a cell-specific manner. However, the literature reviews have indicated that glucose can also regulate gut cells to release incretins which might play a role in memory processes directly or indirectly by vagus nerve stimulation. In this review, we discussed the effects of glucose on the gut and brain, aiming to understand more in-depth the role of glucose in memory function. In addition, we also discussed the alteration of glucose-signaling in type-2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and a possible link to Alzheimer’s disease (AD) pathologies.