The term Western diet (WD) describes the consumption of large amounts of highly processed foods, rich in simple sugars and saturated fats. Long-term WD feeding leads to insulin resistance, postulated as a risk factor for Alzheimer's disease (AD). AD is the main cause of progressive dementia characterized by the deposition of amyloid-β (Aβ) plaques and neurofibrillary tangles consisting of the hyperphosphorylated tau (p-Tau) protein in the brain, starting from the entorhinal cortex and the hippocampus. In this study, we report that WD-derived impairment in insulin signaling induces tau and Aβ brain pathology in wild-type C57BL/6 mice, and that the entorhinal cortex is more sensitive than the hippocampus to the impairment of brain insulin signaling. In the brain areas developing WD-induced insulin resistance, we observed changes in p-Tau(Thr231) localization in neuronal subcellular compartments, indicating progressive tauopathy, and a decrease in amyloid precursor protein levels correlating with the appearance of Aβ peptides. These results suggest that WD promotes the development of AD and may be considered not only a risk factor, but also a modifiable trigger of AD.
Keywords: Alzheimer’s disease; Western diet; brain insulin resistance; insulin signaling.