Brain Fluid from Youngsters Gives Old Mice a Memory Boost

Amazing stuff! Another step closer to the age old quest for the fountain of youth! Don't try this at home! 😄

"... In the study, 18-to-25-month-old mice that had the CSF [cerebral spinal fluid] of 2-to-3-month-old mice injected directly into their brains outperformed controls on a fear conditioning memory task. The study authors say that’s thanks to the growth of new oligodendrocytes, which support other brain cells by producing myelin, the insulation that shields neurons’ axons. ...
“Oligodendrocytes are unique because their progenitors are still present in vast numbers in the aged brain, but [those progenitors] are very slow in responding to cues that promote their differentiation,” ... “We found that when they are re-exposed to young CSF, they proliferate and produce more myelin in the hippocampus,” a brain region associated with memory formation and retention. ...
more recent research has begun to appreciate the key roles played by glia cells (like oligodendrocytes), which seem to be just as important to brain function as neurons. ..."

From the abstract:

"... Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) makes up the immediate environment of brain cells, providing them with nourishing compounds4,5. We discovered that infusing young CSF directly into aged brains improves memory function. Unbiased transcriptome analysis of the hippocampus identified oligodendrocytes to be most responsive to this rejuvenated CSF environment. We further showed that young CSF boosts oligodendrocyte progenitor cell (OPC) proliferation and differentiation in the aged hippocampus and in primary OPC cultures. ... we identified serum response factor (SRF), a transcription factor that drives actin cytoskeleton rearrangement, as a mediator of OPC proliferation following exposure to young CSF. With age, SRF expression decreases in hippocampal OPCs, and the pathway is induced by acute injection with young CSF. We screened for potential SRF activators in CSF and found that fibroblast growth factor 17 (Fgf17) infusion is sufficient to induce OPC proliferation and long-term memory consolidation in aged mice while Fgf17 blockade impairs cognition in young mice. These findings demonstrate the rejuvenating power of young CSF and identify Fgf17 as a key target to restore oligodendrocyte function in the ageing brain."

Brain Fluid from Youngsters Gives Old Mice a Memory Boost | The Scientist Magazine® A growth factor found in the cerebrospinal fluid of young mice triggered the proliferation of myelin-making cells when injected into the brains of older mice.

Young CSF restores oligodendrogenesis and memory in aged mice via Fgf17 (no public access, but article above provides access to PDF file)