Role of folate receptor α in the partial rejuvenation of dentate gyrus cells: Improvement of cognitive function in 21-month-old aged mice.

Neuronal aging may be, in part, related to a change in DNA methylation. Thus, methyl donors, like folate and methionine, may play a role in cognitive changes associated to neuronal aging. To test the role of these metabolites, we performed stereotaxic microinjection of these molecules into the dentate gyrus (DG) of aged mice (an average age of 21 month).

Microtubule-associated protein tau in murine kidney: role in podocyte architecture.

Tau is a cytoskeletal protein that is expressed mainly in neurons and is involved in several cellular processes, such as microtubule stabilization, axonal maintenance, and transport. Altered tau metabolism is related to different tauopathies being the most important Alzheimer's disease where aberrant hyperphosphorylated and aggregated tau is found in the central nervous system. Here, we have analyzed that function in kidney by using tau knockout mice generated by integrating GFP-encoding cDNA into exon 1 of MAPT (here referred to as Tau).