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Topical Area: Neuroscience/Nutrition and the Brain

Neuroscience/Nutrition and the Brain (Poster Session)

(P27-023-23) An Enriched Menaquinone-4 Diet Improves Brain Oxygenation in Aged Mice in the Context of Arterial Stiffness

Monday, July 24, 2023
11:45 AM – 12:45 PM ET
Location: Poster Board 326
Disclosure(s):
Lisa Monteschio, n/a: No relevant financial relationship(s) with ineligible companies to disclose.


Objectives: Investigate the impact of different vitamin K (VK) intake on the hemodynamic response in a mouse model of arterial stiffness.

Methods: A preliminary study conducted in our laboratory showed that a menaquinone-4 (MK-4) enriched diet improved cognition and significantly increased CBF when investigated in a 3-month-old mouse model of arterial stiffness. Specifically, arterial rigidity was induced by the periarterial application of CaCl2 (Ca gp) on the right carotid artery. Control groups were treated with NaCl (Na gp). The current study uses the same experimental model in 16-month-old C57Bl/6 male mice fed a phylloquinone (VK1; 0.1 mg/Kg diet; control condition) or supplemented MK-4 (100 mg/Kg diet) diet. Changes in hemodynamic parameters (oxygenated (HbO), reduced (HbR) and total hemoglobin (HbT) concentrations) were quantified in the sensorimotor cortex following whisker stimulation using multispectral intrinsic optical imaging (IOI). Group differences were analysed using t-tests.

Results: In the VK1 diet group, vascular calcification was associated with a statistically significant decrease in hemodynamic response (p < 0.05). In contrast, in the MK-4 diet group, the hemodynamic response of calcified mice did not differ statistically from the controls.

Conclusions: These findings suggest that an enriched MK-4 diet has the potential to improve neurovascular coupling responses in the context of arterial stiffness, possibly leading to ameliorated cognitive functions during aging.

Funding Sources: This study was funded by CIHR.