Methyl vinyl ketone impairs spatial memory and activates hippocampal glial cells in mice.

Memory is a fundamental brain function that can be affected by a variety of external factors including environmental pollutants. One of these pollutants is methyl vinyl ketone (MVK), a hazardous substance found in cigarettes, industrial wastes, and car exhaust. Humans can be exposed to MVK under many circumstances; however, it is unclear whether MVK affects higher-order brain functions such as memory. Here, we examined the memory performances of mice receiving systemic MVK administration. We found that 1 mg/kg of MVK impaired spatial memory. We also showed that 1 mg/kg MVK activated glial cells and altered glial functions in several subregions of the hippocampus, a brain region involved in learning and memory. These results suggest that MVK induces memory deficits and activates glial cells in hippocampal subregions.
Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.
(Copyright: © 2023 Sato et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)