Quetiapine Attenuates the Neuroinflammation and Executive Function Deficit in Streptozotocin-Induced Diabetic Mice

Diabetic patients are at increased risk for developing memory and cognitive deficit. Prior studies indicate that neuroinflammation might be one important underlying mechanism responsible for this deficit. Quetiapine (QTP) reportedly exerts a significant neuroprotective effect in animal and human studies. Here, we investigated whether QTP could prevent memory deterioration and cognitive impairment in a streptozotocin- (STZ-) induced diabetic mouse model. In this study, we found that STZ significantly compromised the behavioral performance of mice in a puzzle box test, but administering QTP effectively attenuated this behavioral deficit. Moreover, our results showed that QTP could significantly inhibit the activation of astrocytes and microglia in these diabetic mice and reduce the generation and release of two cytokines, tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1). Meanwhile, QTP also prevented the protein loss of the synaptic protein synaptophysin (SYP) and myelin basic protein (MBP). Here, our results indicate that QTP could inhibit neuroinflammatory response from glial cells and block the injury of released cytokines to neurons and oligodendrocytes in diabetic mice (DM). These beneficial effects could protect diabetic mice from the memory and cognitive deficit. QTP may be a potential treatment compound to handle the memory and cognitive dysfunction in diabetic patients.