Cholinergic and glutamergic receptor functional regulation in long-term, low dose somatotropin and insulin treatment to ageing rats: Rejuvenation of brain function

The role of somatotropin and insulin treatment in the regulation of neurotransmitter levels in the ageing brain is not fully established. We evaluated the long-term, low dose effects of somatotropin and insulin on acetylcholine and glutamate receptor subtypes functional regulation in the cerebral cortex of young (4-16 weeks) and old rats (60-90 weeks). Somatotropin and insulin treated young rats showed significant upregulation in muscarinic M1 and M3 expression whereas in old rats, somatotropin and insulin treatment downregulated M1 and M3 expression. N-methyl-D-aspartate and metabotropic glutamate receptor gene expression were significantly downregulated with somatotropin treatment while insulin treatment showed upregulation in both young and old rats. Acetylcholine esterase activity showed a decrease with age and after somatotropin and insulin treatment, the activity increased in both young and old rats. Electroencephalogram studies confirmed the brain wave activity in both young and old somatotropin and insulin treated rats. The results highlight long-term low dose somatotropin and insulin treatment in regulating cholinergic and glutamergic receptors subtypes in ageing rats and rejuvenation of brain function. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.