Pyruvate prevents the inhibition of the long-term potentiation induced by amyloid-β through protein phosphatase 2A inactivation.

Amyloid-β (Aβ) oligomers are derived from proteolytic cleavage of amyloid-β protein precursor and can impair memory and hippocampal long-term potentiation (LTP) in vivo and in vitro. They are recognized as the primary neurotoxic agents in Alzheimer's disease. Pyruvate has a protective effect against Aβ-induced neuronal cell death in hippocampal slice cultures. However, whether pyruvate also has a protective effect against the inhibition of neuronal plasticity induced by Aβ remains to be elucidated. This study examined the effect of pyruvate on the Aβ-induced inhibition of LTP in the rat hippocampus. We found that pyruvate prevented the Aβ-induced inhibition of LTP as strong as fostriecin, a specific protein phosphatase 2A (PP2A) inhibitor. Pyruvate prevented the Aβ block of Ca(2+)/calmodulin dependent protein kinase 2 (CaMK2) autophosphorylation and the Aβ-induced PP2A activation. Pyruvate, but not lactate, decreased reactive oxygen species levels in CA1 slices exposed to Aβ. We propose that pyruvate could prevent the Aβ-induced inhibition of LTP by the re-autophosphorylation of CaMK2 through PP2A inactivation. The reduction of reactive oxygen species production is considered to be the upstream mechanism of this observed pyruvate protection.