GM1 GANGLIOSIDE INFLUENCE ON MEMORY IMPAIRMENTS AND APOPTOSIS REGULATORS’ EXPRESSION IN HIPPOCAMPUS UNDER PROLONGED EXPERIMENTAL ALCOHOL INTOXICATION

Chronic alcohol intoxication is a major medical and social issue that leads to permanent cognitive impairments and central nervous system injury. The neuronal damage is highly influenced by the activation of programmed cell death (apoptosis and pyroptosis). Still, the contribution of specific molecular mechanisms, agents, and triggers requires further investigation. The paper examines monosialotetrahexosylganglioside (GM1) as a promising neuroprotective agent. The research purpose is to comprehensively assess the GM1 ganglioside impact on learning, memory, and expression of the main apoptosis regulators (caspase-1, caspase-3, Bcl-2, Bax) in the mice hippocampus under prolonged experimental alcohol intoxication. The study includes 40 mice of the BALB/c line divided into a control group, an ethanol intoxicated group, and two groups receiving a combination of ethanol and GM1 at doses of 10 mg/kg and 30 mg/kg. The authors apply a passive avoidance test to evaluate memory, whereas protein expression is analyzed by means of western blotting. The findings statistically confirm that alcohol intoxication impairs memory consolidation and increases levels of the pro-apoptotic markers, such as caspase-1 and caspase-3, in hippocampus. GM1 injection results in a neuroprotective effect on the biochemical level; it considerably reduces the caspases expression and shows a dose-dependent relationship with the Bcl-2 family of proteins. Nevertheless, the study detects no significant behavior improvements.

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