Document Type

Thesis

Date of Degree Completion

Summer 2025

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Department

Biology

Committee Chair

Dr. Sarah Oppelt

Second Committee Member

Dr. Geoffrey Sasaki

Third Committee Member

Dr. Ralf Greenwald

Abstract

Over the last 50 years, there has been a rise in diagnoses of Alzheimer’s Disease and other dementias associated with metabolic stress. This parallels an increase in fructose consumption and has led to research on the effects of fructose on the hippocampus, a brain structure responsible for learning and long-term memory formation. The hippocampus is also a region of the brain that metabolizes fructose. Experiments using animals fed diets containing fructose have shown a correlation between fructose consumption, learning impairment, and structural changes to the hippocampus in animals’ brains. However, the effects of fructose on hippocampal neurons have not been characterized at a cellular level. In this project, I used N2A cells, a well-established model for hippocampal neurons, to assess the effects of fructose on mitochondrial function through dehydrogenase levels, ATP, and oxygen usage. The results showed that fructose metabolism is different than glucose metabolism, with lower amounts of dehydrogenase and higher levels of oxygen consumption. They also showed that fructose metabolism at lower concentrations may have a less detrimental effect on mitochondrial function. Taken together, these results help to increase our understanding of fructose metabolism and metabolic stress in N2A cells.

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