Aluminum Chloride-Induced Planarian Model with Cognitive Impairments Through Neuronal Damage, Neurotransmitter Imbalance, Apoptosis, and Oxidative Stress
- 1Innovative Institute of Chinese Medicine and Pharmacy, Shandong University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Jinan 250355, China
- 2School of Life and Medicine, Shandong University of Technology, Zibo 255000, China
Abstract
The prevalence of Alzheimer’s disease has significantly increased, which will place a heavy burden on families and society. Cognitive impairment is a typical feature of Alzheimer’s disease. Rodent models play a key role in AD research, but their considerable expense and slow development pose challenges to the pace of therapeutic discovery. Here, we established a new model of cognitive dysfunction in planarians using AlCl3. After exposure to 50 μM AlCl3 for 48 h, the planarians exhibited cognitive dysfunction in the phototaxis test, dual-stimulus decision test and T-maze test. Immunohistochemical and immunofluorescence experiments confirmed that AlCl3 damaged the neural structure of planarians. Moreover, AlCl3 disrupted the balance of neurotransmitters, leading to cell apoptosis and oxidative stress. Finally, we confirmed that donepezil alleviated the cognitive impairment caused by AlCl3. This indicates that the model we established for cognitive dysfunction in planarians was feasible. However, planarians lack the amyloid-β plaques and tau neurofibrillary tangles typical of AD. Therefore, the planarian model can be considered a promising complementary platform for high-throughput screening of candidate drugs for cognitive impairment.
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BibTeX
@article{wang2026aluminum,
title = {{Aluminum Chloride-Induced Planarian Model with Cognitive Impairments Through Neuronal Damage, Neurotransmitter Imbalance, Apoptosis, and Oxidative Stress}},
author = {Qingxian Wang and Shixue Wang and Zhenbiao Xu and Linxia Song and Kexin Yang and Chunmei Zhang and Xiaorui Cheng},
journal = {International Journal of Molecular Sciences},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.3390/ijms27209364},
url = {https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/27/20/9364},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Aluminum Chloride-Induced Planarian Model with Cognitive Impairments Through Neuronal Damage, Neurotransmitter Imbalance, Apoptosis, and Oxidative Stress
AU - Qingxian Wang
AU - Shixue Wang
AU - Zhenbiao Xu
AU - Linxia Song
AU - Kexin Yang
AU - Chunmei Zhang
AU - Xiaorui Cheng
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/21
JO - International Journal of Molecular Sciences
DO - 10.3390/ijms27209364
UR - https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/27/20/9364
AB - The prevalence of Alzheimer’s disease has significantly increased, which will place a heavy burden on families and society. Cognitive impairment is a typical feature of Alzheimer’s disease. Rodent models play a key role in AD research, but their considerable expense and slow development pose challenges to the pace of therapeutic discovery. Here, we established a new model of cognitive dysfunction in planarians using AlCl3. After exposure to 50 μM AlCl3 for 48 h, the planarians exhibited cognitive dysfunction in the phototaxis test, dual-stimulus decision test and T-maze test. Immunohistochemical and immunofluorescence experiments confirmed that AlCl3 damaged the neural structure of planarians. Moreover, AlCl3 disrupted the balance of neurotransmitters, leading to cell apoptosis and oxidative stress. Finally, we confirmed that donepezil alleviated the cognitive impairment caused by AlCl3. This indicates that the model we established for cognitive dysfunction in planarians was feasible. However, planarians lack the amyloid-β plaques and tau neurofibrillary tangles typical of AD. Therefore, the planarian model can be considered a promising complementary platform for high-throughput screening of candidate drugs for cognitive impairment.
SN - 1422-0067
ER -