Study on the effect of acetyl L-carnitine on cognitive and cellular disorders resulting from lipopolysaccharide-induced inflammation in male rats: emphasis on AKT / mTOR cell pathways and inflammation in the hippocampus

Background: The brain in exposure to irritating factors may lead to production of some chemical factors and proinflammatory cytokines and neuroinflammation. Over time, the chronic neuroinflammation will cause some cognitive disorders and neurodegenerative diseases. The present study studied the effect of acetyl L -carnitine on cognitive and cellular disorders derived from lipopolysaccharide (LPS)- induced inflammation, with emphasis on cellular pathways in the hippocampus of male rat. Materials and methods: In this study, we used LPS with dose of 500 μg/kg of animal’s weight regarding to the previous studies. Acetyl L carnitine was prescribed with three doses of 30, 60 and 100 mg/kg among rats received LPS. Passive avoidance behavior was used to assess learning and memory, and biochemical and molecular methods were used for mTOR, p-AKT, and inflammatory factors. Results: Acetyl L carnitine improved passive avoidance memory as well as working memory in a dose-dependent manner. It also prevented the death of hippocampal neurons by inhibiting neuroinflammation by reducing the expression of IL-6 and IL-1B and increasing the levels of mTOR and AKT-p. Conclusion: The present study showed that acetyl L-carnitine can reduce the destructive effects of lipopolysaccharide, which appears to be through increased levels of mTOR and AKT.