Effects of Kiss Peptin13 on Spatial Memory in Streptozotocin-induced Alzheimer's Disease (AD) in Rats

Experimental models mimicking the Alzheimer’s disease (AD) in humans are important for testing the novel therapeutic approaches in its treatment. Previous studies have shown that kisspeptin, a new neuropeptide can reduce the secretion of Aβ from the cultured cells. However, the involvement of kisspeptin13 in hippocampal dependent learning and memory processes has not been studied yet. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of kisspeptin13 on cognitive functions in Streptozotocin -induced AD in male rats. Thirty two male Wistar rats weighing (20±200) gr were divided into 4 groups: control, STZ (3mg/kg, ICV), saline+ STZ, kp(2µg, ICV)+ STZ. For induction of AD, STZ(3mg/kg) was administered bilaterally into the lateral ventricles. All rats were tested for spatial learning and memory in the morris water maze task. The results showed that STZ significantly impaired both acquisition and retrieval of spatial memory (p<0.05). On the other hand, animals receiving pretreatment of Kp demonstrated significant decrease in time and distance to find the platform in the training and probe test (p=0.034). An icv injection of STZ resulted in a significant decline in spatial learning and memory and pre-treatment with kp can enhance spatial learning and memory. The results show that kpmight be a neuroprotective factor against AD in STZ- induced rat model.