Melatonin improves cognitive function by suppressing endoplasmic reticulum stress and promoting synaptic plasticity during chronic cerebral hypoperfusion in rats

Chronic cerebral hypoperfusion (CCH) is the most common cause of cognitive impairment, which is commonly found in Alzheimer's disease (AD) and vascular dementia (VaD). Recently, studies have demonstrated that melatonin is an effective treatment in various neurodegenerative diseases. In this study, we aimed to investigate the effects of melatonin on CCH-induced AD pathology, endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress, and synaptic plasticity, all of which are correlated with the activation of oxidative stress, apoptosis, and cognitive impairment. CCH was induced in male Wistar rats by bilateral common carotid artery occlusion (2VO). After surgery, rats were treated with melatonin (10 mg/kg) or piracetam (600 mg/kg) by oral gavage once a day for 4 weeks. At the end of the experiment, all rats were assessed for memory impairment by using the Morris water maze test. Subsequently, rats were sacrificed, and brains were removed to determine the levels of beta-amyloid (Aβ), malondialdehyde (MDA); the acetylcholinesterase (AChE) activity; subjected to terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick end labeling (TUNEL); and subjected to western blotting of proteins related to memory, AD pathology, oxidative stress, ER stress, and apoptosis. Melatonin alleviated brain injury during 2VO induction, as revealed by decreased the expression of AD markers, attenuated oxidative stress, suppressed the expression of proteins related to ER stress, apoptosis, and stimulated the expression of the synaptic markers resulting in promoted cognitive function. Therefore, our data demonstrated that melatonin ameliorated cognitive impairment in the 2VO model, and these beneficial effects were associated with reduction in oxidative stress, ER stress, and apoptosis.