William E. Sonntag, PhD

William E Sonntag, PhD
Professor and Donald W. Reynolds Chair of Aging Research
Director, Reynolds Oklahoma Center on Aging

Contact

University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center
975 NE 10th Street, BRC-1303
Oklahoma City, OK 73104
Telephone: (405) 271-8000 (x47812)
e-mail: william-sonntag@ouhsc.edu

Education

B.S., 1972 Tufts University
M.S., 1974 University of Bridgeport (CT)
Ph.D., 1979 Tulane University
Post Doctoral Fellowship, Michigan State University

Memberships

Society for Neuroscience
Endocrine Society
Gerontology Society (Fellow)

Research Interests

Molecular Endocrinology
Neuroendocrinology
Gene Therapy
Learning and Memory
  1. Molecular mechanisms responsible for changes within the hypothalamus and pituitary of aging animals especially related to growth hormone and IGF-1 regulation (including transcriptional and translational regulatory events).
  2. Relationship between microvascular rarefaction, vascular reactivity and brain aging. Molecular mechanisms contributing to the decline in cognitive ability with age. Effects and mechanisms of action of growth hormone and IGF-1 on brain aging.
  3. Application of DNA array, RT-PCR and functional proteomic measures for assessing molecular basis for age-related changes in physical and cognitive function.
  4. Effects of moderate caloric restriction on the development of functional impairments with age and the development of age-related pathologies.
  5. Mechanisms contributing to the decline in cognitive function after ionizing radiation treatment.

For over thirty years, Dr. Sonntag's research interest has been the neuroendocrine alterations that contribute to the degenerative conditions that accompany aging. Research from Dr. Sonntag's laboratory provided the first evidence that growth hormone and insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) secretion decreases with age. He has done seminal studies related to the neuroendocrine mechanisms that contribute to the reduction in growth hormone and IGF-1 secretion, the effects of moderate caloric restriction on the regulation of growth hormone and IGF-1 axis, and the effects of growth hormone and/or IGF-1 replacement on the function of numerous tissues that decline with age. These studies have included, but are not limited to, effects of these hormones on cellular protein synthesis, metastatic disease, and cardiac and immune function.

His most recent studies have concentrated on the role of growth hormone and IGF-1 on brain aging. He was the first to present evidence that replacement of IGF-1reverses the cognitive decline that occurs with age and that administration of growth hormone or compounds that increase growth hormone and IGF-1 secretion ameliorate the cognitive deficits associated with age. Dr. Sonntag and his research team have also undertaken studies to establish that growth hormone and IGF-1 increase neurogenesis, synaptic complexity, vascular density, glucose metabolism and blood flow and reverse age-related changes in specific NMDA receptor subtypes in brains of older animals. Most recently, Dr. Sonntag has established a unique model of adult-onset growth hormone and IGF-1 deficiency and determined that early deficiency in these hormones result in the accelerated development of the aging phenotype.

Dr. Sonntag has published more than 130 original manuscripts and reviews, served on the Biochemical Endocrinology Study Section and has been invited to present his research at national and international meetings.

Recent Publications

  1. Braverman, ER; Chen, TJH; Prihoda, TJ, Sonntag WE. Plasma growth hormone, P300 event-related potential and test of variables of attention (TOVA) are important neuroendocrinological predictors of early cognitive decline in a clinical setting: Evidence supported by structural equation modeling (SEM) parameter estimates AGE 2007, 29, 2-3,55-67.
  2. You T, Sonntag WE, Leng X, Carter CS. Lifelong caloric restriction and interleukin-6 secretion from adipose tissue: Effects on physical performance decline in aged rats. J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci. 2007 62:1082-7.
  3. Ingraham, JP, Forbes ME, Riddle DR, Sonntag WE, Aging reduces hypoxia-induced microvascular growth in the rodent hippocampus. Journals of Gerontology- Biological Sciences 2008 63: 12-20.
  4. Adams MM, Shi L, Linville MC, Forbes ME, Long AB, Bennett C, Newton IG, Carter CS, Sonntag WE, Riddle DR, Brunso-Bechtold JK. Caloric restriction and age affect synaptic proteins in hippocampal CA3 and spatial learning ability. Exp Neurol. 2008, 211:141-9.
  5. Hua K,, Forbes ME, Lichtenwalner RJ, Sonntag WE, Riddle DR. Adult-Onset Deficiency in Growth Hormone and Insulin-Like Growth Factor-I Alters Glial Turnover in the Corpus Callosum. Glia 2008 Dec 29 Epub.
  6. Groban L, Harrison J, Lin M, Houle T, Kitzman D, Sonntag W. Effects of short-term treadmill exercise training or growth hormone supplementation on diastolic function and exercise tolerance in old rats. J Gerontology A Biol Sci Med Sci  2008 63: 911-920.
  7. Carnes BA, Staats DO, Sonntag WE. Does senescence give rise to disease? Mechanisms of Aging and Development  2008 129:693-9.
  8. Freeman W, VanGuilder HD, Bennett CD, Sonntag WE. Cognitive performance and age-related changes in the hippocampal proteome. Neuroscience 2009 159:183-95.
  9. Sonntag W E, Herenu C B and Goya R G (2009) Neuroendocrine Aging: Pituitary Metabolism. In: Squire LR (ed.) Encyclopedia of Neuroscience, volume 6, pp. 299-307. Oxford: Academic Press.
  10. Apel, PJ, Alton, TB, Ma, J, Callahan, M, Northam, C, Sonntag, WE, Li, Z. How age impairs the response of the neuromuscular junction to nerve transection and repair: An experimental study in rats. J Orthop Research. J Orthop Res. 2009  27:385-9.
  11. Adams MM, Forbes ME, Linville MC, Riddle DR, Sonntag WE, Brunso-Bechtold JK. Stability of brain insulin-like growth factor- I (IGF- I) levels in two well-characterized models of decreased IGF-1.  Growth Factors 2009 27:181-188.
  12. Hereñú CB, Sonntag WE, Morel G, Portiansky EL, Goya RG.  Effective in vivo delivery of the gene for insulin-like growth factor-1 to brain ependymal cells. Neuroscience 2009, 163:422-427.
  13. Mitschelen MM, Garteiser P, Carnes BA, Farley JA, Doblas S, JH DeMoe, Warrington JP, Yan H, MM Nicolle, R Towner, WE Sonntag. Basal and hypercapnia-altered cerebrovascular perfusion predict mild cognitive impairment in rodents: an MRI study using FAIR and BOLD imaging. Neuroscience 2009, Sept 6, (e-pub ahead of print).
  14. Apel PJ, Ma J, Callahan M, Northam C, Alton TB, Sonntag WE, Li Z. The effect of locally delivered IGF-1 on nerve regeneration during aging: An experimental study in rats. Muscle Nerve. 2009 (in press).
  15. Nieves-Martines, E, Sonntag WE, Wilson A, Donahue A, Molina D, Brunso-Bechtold J, Nicolle MM. Early-onset growth hormone deficiency results in spatial memory impairment in mid-life and is prevented by growth hormone supplementation. Journal of Endocrinology, 2009 (in press). 
  16. Lee WH, Sonntag WE, Mitshelen M, Yan H, Lee YW. Irradiation induces regionally specific alterations in pro-inflammatory environments in rat brain. International Journal of Radiation Biology 2009 (in press).