Protective effects of a polyphenol-rich blueberry extract on adult human neural progenitor cells

Authors: ZHENG, TONG - Jean Mayer Human Nutrition Research Center On Aging At Tufts University; BIELINSKI, DONNA - Jean Mayer Human Nutrition Research Center On Aging At Tufts University; Fisher, Derek; ZHANG, JIANYI - Tufts University; Shukitt-Hale, Barbara

Submitted to: Molecules
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 9/15/2022
Publication Date: 9/20/2022
Citation: Zheng, T., Bielinski, D.F., Fisher, D.R., Zhang, J., Shukitt Hale, B. 2022. Protective effects of a polyphenol-rich blueberry extract on adult human neural progenitor cells. Molecules. 27(19):6152. https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules27196152.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules27196152

Interpretive Summary: Aging causes brain functions to decline, and blueberries have been shown to improve brain functions in older humans. Our previous studies in aged rodents have shown that blueberry in the diet can increase the generation of new brain cells. To examine whether blueberry might also do this in human cells, we treated human brain cells responsible for generating new brain cells, grown in culture, with blueberry extract. In some cases we used a chemical that causes cellular stress to determine whether blueberry might protect the cells from stress. Our data showed that blueberry extract, at certain concentrations, increased the survival and growth of the brain cells, and also reversed the decreases in survival and growth induced by the cellular stressor. These results suggest a potential role for blueberry in the prevention or slowing of age-related declines in the human brain.

Technical Abstract: The aging process impacts neural stem cells and causes a significant decline in neurogenesis that contributes to the neuronal dysfunction leading to cognitive decline. Blueberries are rich in polyphenols and have been shown to improve cognition and memory in older humans. While our previous studies have shown that blueberry supplementations can increase neurogenesis in aged rodents, it is not clear whether this can be extrapolated to humans. We thus investigated the effects of blueberry treatments on the adult hippocampal human neural progenitor cells (AHNPs) that are involved in neurogenesis and potentially in memory and other brain functions. Cultured AHNPs were treated with blueberry extract at different concentrations. Their viability, proliferation, and differentiation with and without the presence of a cellular stressor, Dopamine, were evaluated; potential cellular mechanisms were also investigated. Our data showed that blueberry extract can significantly increase the viability (33-53%) and proliferation rates (30%) of hippocampal AHNPs and was also able to reverse decreases in viability and proliferation induced by a cellular stressor by 94-140% and 50-90%, respectively. These effects may be associated with blueberry’s anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and calcium-buffering properties. Polyphenol-rich berry extracts thus confer a neuroprotective effect on human hippocampal progenitor cells, suggesting a role in prevention or slowing progression of the age-related decline of neurogenesis.