The frequency of cognitive decline and mood disorders increases with aging: the identification of molecules and other means to treat these conditions is therefore crucial. This is why researchers from the Institut Pasteur, Inserm and CNRS have evaluated, in a study whose results have just been published In Nature Aging, the effect of GDF11 growth factor administrationon cognitive faculties and mood disorders in mouse models.
This GDF11 protein, present in the blood, has in fact shown in previous studies a beneficial effect on olfactory perceptions and on the cell generation process in the brain. Researchers have identified its mechanism of action: it acts directly on the neurons of the hippocampus (which plays a fundamental role in memory and mood regulation) and improves neuronal activity through the stimulation of a process called “autophagy” (a process of intracellular cleansing) and the elimination of senescent cells.
Systemic administration of GDF11 improved memory abilities and attenuated senescence and depression-like mood disturbances in aged mice in this study. Moreover, in younger mouse models, in which a depression-like phenotype was induced by corticosteroids, the researchers also showed that the administration of GDF11 attenuated these depressive behaviors.
To better understand the link between depressive disorders and the GDF11 protein in humans, scientists went further: they quantified protein in the blood serum of an international cohort of young patients with depressive disorders. Result : GDF11 levels are significantly lower in these patients. Moreover, by measuring the levels of this protein at different stages, the researchers observed a fluctuation in the level depending on the state of depression.
Low blood levels of GDF11 might thus be linked to mood disorders in patients with depression. “In the future, this molecule might be used to diagnose, as a biomarker, depressive episodes. It might also serve as a therapeutic molecule for the treatment of cognitive and affective dysfunctions”, concludes Lida Katsimpardico-author of the study.
