Sex-Specific Effects of High Fat Diet on Indices of Metabolic Syndrome in 3xTg-AD Mice: Implications for Alzheimer's Disease

Multiple factors of metabolic syndrome have been implicated in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease (AD), including abdominal obesity, insulin resistance, endocrine dysfunction and dyslipidemia. High fat diet, a common experimental model of obesity and metabolic syndrome, has been shown to accelerate cognitive decline and AD-related neuropathology in animal models. However, sex interacts with the metabolic outcomes of high fat diet and, therefore, may alter neuropathological consequences of dietary manipulations. This study examines the effects of sex and high fat diet on metabolic and AD-related neuropathological outcomes in 3xTg-AD mice. Three month-old male and female 3xTg-AD mice were fed either standard or high fat diets for 4 months. Obesity was observed in all high fat fed mice; however, ectopic fat accumulation, hyperglycemia and hyperinsulinemia were observed only in males. Interestingly, despite the different metabolic outcomes of high fat diet, the neuropathological consequences were similar: both male and female mice maintained under high fat diet exhibited significant worsening in behavioral performance and hippocampal accumulation of β-amyloid protein. Because high fat diet resulted in obesity and increased AD-like pathology in both sexes, these data support a role of obesity-related factors in promoting AD pathogenesis.