Supplementary Material for: Efficacy of Long-Term Feeding of α-Glycerophosphocholine for Aging-Related Phenomena in Old Mice

α-Glycerophosphocholine (GPC) is a natural source of choline. It reportedly prevents aging-related decline in cognitive function, but the underlying mechanism remains unclear. Although it is understood that aging influences taste sensitivity and energy regulation, whether GPC exerts antiaging effects on such phenomena requires further elucidation. Here, we used old C57BL/6J mice that were fed a GPC-containing diet, to investigate the molecular mechanisms underlying the prevention of a decline in cognitive function associated with aging and examine the beneficial effects of GPC intake on aging-related phenomena, such as taste sensitivity and energy regulation. We confirmed that GPC intake reduces the aging-related decline in the expression levels of genes related to long-term potentiation. Although we did not observe an improvement in aging-related decline in taste sensitivity, there was a notable improvement in the expression levels of β-oxidation-associated genes in old mice. Our results suggest that the prevention of aging-related decline in cognitive function by GPC intake may be associated with the improvement of gene expression levels of long-term potentiation. Furthermore, GPC intake may positively influence lipid metabolism.

α-甘油磷酸胆碱（α-Glycerophosphocholine, GPC）是天然胆碱来源。据报道其可延缓衰老相关性认知功能衰退，但其具体作用机制仍未明确。尽管已知衰老可影响味觉敏感性与能量代谢调控，但GPC是否对这类表型发挥抗衰作用，仍有待进一步阐明。本研究选用喂食含GPC饲料的老年C57BL/6J小鼠，探究GPC延缓衰老相关性认知功能衰退的分子机制，并考察GPC摄入对衰老相关表型（如味觉敏感性与能量代谢调控）的有益作用。本研究证实，GPC摄入可减轻衰老相关的长时程增强（long-term potentiation）相关基因表达水平的下降。尽管未观察到衰老相关性味觉敏感性衰退得到改善，但老年小鼠体内β-氧化（β-oxidation）相关基因的表达水平出现了显著提升。本研究结果显示，GPC摄入延缓衰老相关性认知功能衰退的作用，可能与长时程增强相关基因表达水平的改善密切相关。此外，GPC摄入或可对脂质代谢产生积极调控作用。