RNA-Dependent Intergenerational Inheritance of Enhanced Synaptic Plasticity after Environmental Enrichment

Publication date: 10 April 2018
Source:Cell Reports, Volume 23, Issue 2
Author(s): Eva Benito, Cemil Kerimoglu, Binu Ramachandran, Tonatiuh Pena-Centeno, Gaurav Jain, Roman Manuel Stilling, Md Rezaul Islam, Vincenzo Capece, Qihui Zhou, Dieter Edbauer, Camin Dean, André Fischer
Physical exercise in combination with cognitive training is known to enhance synaptic plasticity, learning, and memory and lower the risk for various complex diseases including Alzheimer's disease. Here, we show that exposure of adult male mice to an environmental enrichment paradigm leads to enhancement of synaptic plasticity and cognition also in the next generation. We show that this effect is mediated through sperm RNA and especially miRs 212/132. In conclusion, our study reports intergenerational inheritance of an acquired cognitive benefit and points to specific miRs as candidates mechanistically involved in this type of transmission.

Graphical abstract

Teaser

Environmental enrichment (EE), a combination of physical and mental exercise, has been shown to increase cognitive abilities in mice and in humans. Benito et al. find that offspring of male mice subjected to EE also show this increase. This effect is dependent on sperm RNA and involves microRNA212/132.


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