Study of excessive fructose consumption on brain disorders by pulsed tracing of fructose-induced brain proteins

• Main Author: Tan, Le Min
• Other Authors: Sze Siu Kwan
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: 2019
• Subjects: Science::Biological sciences
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10356/78972
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

The exponential growth of fructose uptake in the last few decades is mostly attributed by frequent consumption of high-fructose corn syrup found in sweetened drinks. Worryingly, excessive fructose intake could promote many health problems, from obesity, impaired learning and memory, inflammation, oxidative stress, mitochondrial dysfunction, metabolic syndrome, to Type II diabetes, a global health issue. As majority of ingested fructose is metabolised by liver, most studies focused on the consequences of excessive fructose uptake on liver and few studied its effects on brain physiology in depth. In this study, pulsed-Stable Isotope Labelling by Amino acids in Cell culture (pSILAC) in Vivo Labelling in Mouse (pSIVOM), a novel method, was utilised to identify and quantify any newly synthesised brain proteins after excessive short-term fructose feeding in mice. Reverse Transcription-quantitative Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-qPCR) and western blot were performed to validate changes detected in gene and protein expressions upon fructose uptake respectively. We discovered significant changes in protein expressions involved in hypothalamic insulin resistance, learning and memory, mitochondrial dysfunction and neurological diseases after fructose feeding. These results would deepen current understanding of excessive fructose-induced deleterious effects, providing insights into pathogenesis of neurological diseases and aid in therapeutic development against neurological diseases.