ABSTRACT
Current evidence supports the beneficial role of phytoestrogens in metabolic diseases, but their influences on spontaneous motor and anxiety behaviors plus neuroprotective effects have still not been completely elucidated. With the present study, neuro-behavioral activities were correlated to daidzein (DZ)-dependent expression changes of a high affinity catalytic receptor for several neurotrophins, and namely tropomyosin-related kinase B receptor (TrkB) in the cerebellar cortex of high-fat diet (HFD) hamsters (Mesocricetus auratus). Indeed, these changes appear to be tightly linked to altered plasma lipid profiles as shown by reduced low-density lipoproteins plus total cholesterol levels in DZ-treated obesity hamsters accounting for increased spontaneous locomotor together with diminished anxiety activities in novel cage (NCT) and light/dark box (LDT) tests. For this latter case, the anxiolytic-like hamsters spent more time in the light compartment, which was retained the aversive area of the LDT box. As for the evaluation of the neurotrophin receptor site, significantly elevated TrkB levels were also detected, for the first time, in the cerebellum of obese hamsters treated with DZ. In this condition, such a treatment widely led to an overall improvement of HFD-induced neurodegeneration damages, above all in the Purkinje and granular layers of the cerebellum. In this context, the notably active TrkB signaling events occurring in a DZ-dependent manner may turn out to be a key neuroprotective element capable of restoring normal emotional and spontaneously linked locomotor behaviors regulated by cerebellar cortical areas especially in obesity-related conditions.
