1.
Widespread neuronal and glial hyperphosphorylated tau deposition in ALS with cognitive impairment.
Source
Robarts Research Institute, The University of Western Ontario.
Abstract
Although the biological basis of frontotemporal syndromes associated with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is considered to be altered metabolism of TDP-43, in ALS with cognitive impairment (ALSci) the metabolism of tau protein is also altered. This includes neuronal hyperphosphorylation (pThr(175)). Using novel polyclonal phospho-tau antibodies (pSer(208, 210), pThr(217) and pThr(175)) and antibodies directed against PHF tau (pSer(202)), TDP-43 or ubiquitin, we characterized tau deposition in ALS and ALSci. In ALS, we observed pThr(175) tau immunoreactive intraneuronal and neuritic aggregates throughout the amygdala and entorhinal cortex. In ALSci, this extended to the anterior cingulate gyrus, superior frontal cortex and substantia nigra. The pThr(217) antibody detected widespread astrocytic taudeposition, including punctuate or fibrillary aggregates, or intensely immunoreactive tufted astrocytes in the superior frontal cortex, anterior cingulate gyrus, entorhinal cortex, amygdala and basal ganglia of ALS. In ALSci, a similar but more widely distributed pThr(217) pathology was observed. There was no correlation between the extent of pathologicaltau deposition and TDP-43 pathology, although nuclear TDP-43 immunoreactivity was absent in neurons with taupathology. In conclusion, ALSci is unique in possessing both tau and TDP-43 pathology. The presence of widespread astrocytic tau pathology suggests that ALSci may initially be characterized by astrocytic pathology.
- PMID:
- 22214313
- [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
Spines, plasticity, and cognition in Alzheimer's model mice.
Source
Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 114 16th Street, Charlestown, MA 02129, USA.
Abstract
The pathological hallmarks of Alzheimer's disease (AD)-widespread synaptic and neuronal loss and the pathological accumulation of amyloid-beta peptide (Aβ) in senile plaques, as well as hyperphosphorylated tau in neurofibrillary tangles-have been known for many decades, but the links between AD pathology and dementia and effective therapeutic strategies remain elusive. Transgenic mice have been developed based on rare familial forms of AD and frontotemporal dementia, allowing investigators to test in detail the structural, functional, and behavioral consequences of AD-associated pathology. Here, we review work on transgenic AD models that investigate the degeneration of dendritic spine structure, synaptic function, and cognition. Together, these data support a model of AD pathogenesis in which soluble Aβ initiates synaptic dysfunction and loss, as well as pathological changes in tau, which contribute to both synaptic and neuronal loss. These changes in synapse structure and function as well as frank synapse and neuronal loss contribute to the neural system dysfunction which causes cognitive deficits. Understanding the underpinnings of dementia in AD will be essential to develop and evaluate therapeutic approaches for this widespread and devastating disease.
Pharmacotherapies for Alzheimer's disease: Beyond cholinesterase inhibitors.
Source
Department of Neurology, McLean Hospital, Belmont, MA 02478, USA; Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Belmont, MA 02478, USA; Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Abstract
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common cause of memory impairment and dementia in the elderly. AD is pathologically characterized by extracellular deposits of beta-amyloid (Aβ) peptide, neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs) composed of hyperphosphorylated tau, neuronal loss, and neurotransmitter dysfunction. Clinically, AD is characterized by progressive cognitive decline that usually starts with memory impairment and progresses to cause a more generalized cognitive dysfunction, behavioral dysregulation, and neuropsychiatric symptoms. These symptoms collectively lead to a progressive and relentless decline in the ability to perform functions of daily living, eventually leading to total incapacitation. The incidence and prevalence of AD are expected to exponentially increase with the aging of the population. Currently approved treatments, including the acetylcholinesterase inhibitors (AChEIs) donepezil, galantamine and rivastigmine, and the N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) antagonist memantine, do not halt the progression of the disease, and have provided marginal therapeutic benefits. Accordingly, there is an urgent need to develop novel and effective medications for AD that go beyond AChEIs and NMDA antagonists. Modern research has focused on discovering effective disease-modifying therapies, which specifically target the pathophysiologic cascade, hoping to delay the onset of the disease and slow its progression. In this review, different pharmacological drugs and therapeutic approaches will be discussed, with an emphasis on novel therapies that are currently being investigated in clinical trials.
Copyright © 2011. Published by Elsevier Inc.
WW domain-containing oxidoreductase promotes neuronal differentiation via negative regulation of glycogen synthase kinase 3β
Source
Institute of Clinical Medicine, National Cheng Kung University Medical College, Tainan, Taiwan.
Abstract
WW domain-containing oxidoreductase (WWOX), a putative tumour suppressor, is suggested to be involved in the hyperphosphorylation of Alzheimer's Tau. Tau is a microtubule-associated protein that has an important role in microtubule assembly and stability. Glycogen synthase kinase 3β (GSK3β) has a vital role in Tau hyperphosphorylation at its microtubule-binding domains. Hyperphosphorylated Tau has a low affinity for microtubules, thus disrupting microtubule stability. Bioinformatics analysis indicated that WWOX contains two potential GSK3β-binding FXXXLI/VXRLE motifs. Immunofluorescence, immunoprecipitation and molecular modelling showed that WWOX interacts physically with GSK3β. We demonstrated biochemically that WWOX can bind directly to GSK3β through its short-chain alcohol dehydrogenase/reductase domain. Moreover, the overexpression of WWOX inhibited GSK3β-stimulated S396 and S404 phosphorylation within the microtubule domains of Tau, indicating that WWOX is involved in regulating GSK3β activity in cells. WWOX repressed GSK3β activity, restored the microtubule assembly activity of Tau and promoted neurite outgrowth in SH-SY5Y cells. Conversely, RNAi-mediated knockdown of WWOX in retinoic acid (RA)-differentiated SH-SY5Y cells inhibited neurite outgrowth. These results suggest that WWOX is likely to be involved in regulating GSK3β activity, reducing the level of phosphorylated Tau, and subsequently promoting neurite outgrowth during neuron differentiation. In summary, our data reveal a novel mechanism by which WWOX promotes neuronal differentiation in response to RA.Cell Death and Differentiation advance online publication, 23 December 2011; doi:10.1038/cdd.2011.188.
Contributions of brain insulin resistance and deficiency in amyloid-related neurodegeneration in Alzheimer's disease.
Source
Departments of Pathology, Neurosurgery, Neurology, and Medicine, Rhode Island Hospital and the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Providence, RI, USA.
Abstract
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common cause of dementia in North America. Growing evidence supports the concept that AD is fundamentally a metabolic disease that results in progressive impairment in the brain's capacity to utilize glucose and respond to insulin and insulin-like growth factor (IGF) stimulation. Moreover, the heterogeneous nature of AD is only partly explained by the brain's propensity to accumulate aberrantly processed, misfolded and aggregated oligomeric structural proteins, including amyloid-β peptides and hyperphosphorylated tau. Evidence suggests that other factors, including impaired energy metabolism, oxidative stress, neuroinflammation, insulin and IGF resistance, and insulin/IGF deficiency in the brain should be incorporated into an overarching hypothesis to develop more realistic diagnostic and therapeutic approaches to AD. In this review, the interrelationship between impaired insulin and IGF signalling and amyloid-β pathology is discussed along with potential therapeutic approaches. Impairments in brain insulin/IGF signalling lead to increased expression of amyloid-β precursor protein (AβPP) and accumulation of AβPP-Aβ. In addition, they promote oxidative stress and deficits in energy metabolism, leading to the activation of pro-AβPP-Aβ-mediated neurodegeneration cascades. Although brain insulin/IGF resistance and deficiency can be induced by primary or secondary disease processes, the soaring rates of peripheral insulin resistance associated with obesity, diabetes mellitus and metabolic syndrome quite likely play major roles in the current AD epidemic. Both clinical and experimental data have linked chronic hyperinsulinaemia to cognitive impairment and neurodegeneration with increased AβPP-Aβ accumulation/reduced clearance in the CNS. Correspondingly, both the restoration of insulin responsiveness and the use of insulin therapy can lead to improved cognitive performance, although with variable effects on brain AβPP-Aβ load. On the other hand, experimental evidence supports the concept that the toxic effects of AβPP-Aβ can promote insulin resistance. Together, these findings suggest that a positive feedback loop of progressive neurodegeneration can develop whereby insulin resistance drives AβPP-Aβ accumulation, and AβPP-Aβ fibril toxicity drives brain insulin resistance. This phenomenon could explain why measuring AβPP-Aβ levels in cerebrospinal fluid or imaging of the brain has proven to be inadequate as a stand-alone biomarker for diagnosing AD, and why the clinical trial results of anti-AβPP-Aβ monotherapy have been disappointing. Instead, the aggregate data suggest that brain insulin resistance and deficiency must also be therapeutically targeted to halt AD progression or reverse its natural course. The positive therapeutic effects of different treatments that address the role of brain insulin/IGF resistance and deficiency, including the use of intranasal insulin delivery, incretins and insulin sensitizer agents are discussed along with potential benefits of lifestyle changes to modify risk for developing mild cognitive impairment or AD. Altogether, the data strongly support the notion that we must shift toward the implementation of multimodal rather than unimodal diagnostic and therapeutic strategies for AD.
Endoplasmic reticulum stress: a new playER in tauopathies.
Source
Center for Neuroscience and Cell Biology, University of Coimbra, Portugal.
Abstract
The accumulation of unfolded or misfolded proteins in the lumen of the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) activates the unfolded protein response (UPR), which involves a set of protein signalling pathways and transcription factors that re-establish homeostasis and normal ER function, adapting cells to ER stress. If this adaptive response is insufficient, the UPR triggers an apoptotic program to eliminate irreversibly damaged cells. Recent observations suggest that ER stress plays an important role in the pathogenesis of various neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer's disease, which is characterized by the deposition of amyloid-beta (Abeta) and hyperphosphorylated tau in susceptible brain regions. Moreover, several studies demonstrate that Abeta induces UPR activation, which in turn promotes tau phosphorylation. In the study by Nijholt and colleagues, reported in the current issue of The Journal of Pathology, the association between UPR activation and tau pathology was investigated in the brain of patients diagnosed with sporadic or familial tauopathies in which Abeta deposits are absent. The authors described that increased levels of UPR activation markers are predominantly observed in neurons within the hippocampus, being correlated with early tau phosphorylation. These findings suggest that UPR activation, which occurs in an Abeta-independent manner, is an early event during taupathology and point to a functional crosstalk between these molecular mechanisms in tauopathies. A better understanding of UPR activation in tauopathies can thus contribute to the design of new therapeutic strategies with the purpose of promoting neuronal cell survival in these disorders. Copyright © 2011 Pathological Society of Great Britain and Ireland. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Copyright © 2011 Pathological Society of Great Britain and Ireland. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Mouse models for LRRK2 Parkinson's disease.
Source
Department of Neurology and Friedman Brain Institute, Mt. Sinai School of Medicine, New York University, New York, NY 10029, USA.
Abstract
Parkinson's disease (PD) is the second most common neurodegenerative disease. Mutations in Leucine-rich-repeat-kinase 2 (LRRK2), the causative gene for PARK8 type PD with autosomal dominant inheritance, are the most prevalent genetic causes of both familial and sporadic PD. Animal models are critical tools in the attempt to understand the mechanisms of LRRK2-mediated pathogenesis. We have generated human Bacterial Artificial Chromosome (BAC) mediated transgenic mouse models expressing mutant LRRK2 that robustly recapitulate the behavioral, neurochemical and pathological features of PD. These mice develop an age-dependent decrease in motor activity that is progressive and responds to treatment with levodopa. Pathologically, the most salient phenotype is early axonopathy of nigrostriatal dopaminergic neurons, accompanied by hyperphosphorylated tau. The mice also exhibit a consistent dopamine transmission deficit in both acute brain slices and live freely moving animals. Here we will discuss LRRK2 mouse models from several laboratories, their commonalities and differences, and offer scientific insights drawn from these studies.
Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Propyl isomerase Pin1 promotes APP protein turnover by inhibiting GSK3β kinase activity: A novel mechanism for Pin1 to protect against Alzheimer's disease.
Source
Beth Israel Deaconese Medical Center, United States;
Abstract
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is characterized by the presence of senile plaques of amyloid-beta peptides (Aβ) derived from amyloid precursor protein (APP) and neurofibrillary tangles composed of hyperphosphorylated tau. Increasing APP gene dosage or expression has been shown to cause familial early-onset AD. However, whether protein stability of APP is regulated is unclear. The prolyl isomerase Pin1 and glycogen synthase 3β (GSK3β) have been shown to have the opposite effects on APP processing and tau hyperphosphorylation, relevant to the pathogenesis of AD. However, nothing is known about their relationship. In this study, we found that Pin1 binds to the pT330-P motif in GSK3β to inhibit its kinase activity. Furthermore, Pin1 promotes protein turnover of APP by inhibiting GSK3β activity. A point mutation either at T330, the Pin1-binding site in GSK3β, or T668, the GSK3β phosphorylation site in APP, abolished the regulation of GSK3β activity, T668 phosphorylation and APP stability by Pin1, resulting in reduced non-amyloidogenic APP processing and increased APP levels. These results uncover a novel role of Pin1 in inhibiting GSK3β kinase activity to reduce APP protein levels, providing a previously unrecognized mechanism by which Pin1 protects against Alzheimer's disease.
Effect of chronic administration of estradiol, progesterone, and tibolone on the expression and phosphorylation of glycogen synthase kinase-3β and the microtubule-associated protein tau in the hippocampus and cerebellum of female rat.
Source
Unidad de Investigación Médica en Farmacología, Hospital de Especialidades, Centro Médico Nacional Siglo XXI, Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social, México D.F., México.
Abstract
Gonadal hormones regulate expression and activation of protein tau. Tibolone is a drug used as first- choice comprehensive treatment for the relief of menopausal symptoms, because it and its various metabolites have estrogenic properties and progestogenic/androgenic effects; however, the effect on the activation of tau protein and its signaling cascade in the brain is unknown. We studied the effect of chronic administration of estradiol (E2), progesterone (P4), and tibolone (TIB) on the expression and phosphorylation of microtubule-associated protein tau and glycogen synthase kinase-3β (GSK3β) in the hippocampus and cerebellum of ovariectomized rats. Ovariectomized adult female rats were implanted with pellets of vehicle, E2, or P4 or were treated with TIB by oral administration for 60 days. The animals were sacrificed, and tissue proteins were analyzed by Western blot. We observed that, in the hippocampus, administration of E2, P4, or TIB significantly decreased the protein content of hyperphosphorylated tau and increased the taudephosphorylated form, whereas only treatment with TIB increased the content of the phosphorylated form of GSK3β. In the cerebellum, E2 and TIB treatments resulted in a significant decrease in the expression of hyperphosphorylated tau, whereas E2 and TIB increased phosphorylated GSK3β; P4 had no effect. These results indicate that chronic administration of gonadal hormones and tibolone modulates tau and GSK3β phosphorylation in hippocampus and cerebellum of the rat and may exert a neuroprotective effect in these tissues. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Copyright © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Targeting hyperphosphorylated tau with sodium selenate suppresses seizures in rodent models.
Source
Department of Medicine, The Royal Melbourne Hospital, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC, Australia.
Abstract
Tau hyperphosphorylation has been implicated in the pathogenesis of a variety of forms of human epilepsy. Here we investigated whether treatment with sodium selenate, a drug which reduces pathological hyperphosphorylated tau by enhancement of PP2A activity, would inhibit seizures in rodent models. In vitro, sodium selenate reduced tauphosphorylation in human neuroblastoma cells and reversed the increase in tau phosphorylation induced by the PP2A inhibitor, okadaic acid. Sodium selenate treatment was then tested against three different rodent seizure models. Firstly the propensity of 6-Hz electrical corneal stimulation to induce seizures in adult mice was assessed following acute treatment with different doses of sodium selenate. Secondly, the number of seizures induced by pentylenetetrazole (PTZ) was quantified in rats following chronic sodium selenate treatment via drinking water. Finally, amygdala kindled rats were chronically treated with sodium selenate in drinking water and the length and the severity of the seizures evoked by stimulation of the amygdala recorded. The results demonstrated a dose-dependent protection of sodium selenate against 6-Hz stimulation induced seizures, and significant reduction in the total number of seizures following PTZ injection. Amygdala kindled rats chronically treated with sodium selenate had significantly shorter seizure duration compared controls, with more pronounced effects observed as the duration of treatment increased. The results of this study indicate that targeting hyperphosphorylated tau by treatment with sodium selenate has anti-seizure effects in a broad range of rodent models, and may represent a novel approach to treatment of patients with epilepsy.
Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Melatonin plus physical exercise are highly neuroprotective in the 3xTg-AD mouse.
Source
Institute of Biomedical Research of Barcelona (IIBB), CSIC, IDIBAPS, Barcelona, Spain.
Abstract
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a devastating age-related neurodegenerative disease with no specific treatment at present. Several healthy lifestyle options and over-the-counter drugs that it has been suggested delay the onset of the disease are in an experimental phase, but it is unclear whether they will have any therapeutic value against AD. We assayed physical exercise and melatonin in 3xTg-AD male mice aged from 6 to 12 months, therefore from moderate to advanced phases of AD pathology. Analysis of behavior and brain tissue at termination showed differential patterns of neuroprotection for the 2 treatments. Both treatments decreased soluble amyloid β oligomers, whereas only melatonin decreased hyperphosphorylated tau. Melatonin was effective against the immunosenescence that 3xTg-AD mice present. Voluntary physical exercise protected against behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia such as anxiety, a lack of exploration, and emotionality. Both treatments protected against cognitive impairment, brain oxidative stress, and a decrease in mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA). Interestingly, only the combined treatment of physical exercise plus melatonin was effective against the decrease of mitochondrial complexes. Therefore, melatonin plus physical exercise may exert complementary, additive, or even synergistic effects against a range of disturbances present in AD.
Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Hyperphosphorylated tau in young and middle-aged subjects.
Source
Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Rudbeck Laboratory, Uppsala University/Uppsala University Hospital, Dag Hammarskjölds väg 20, 751 85, Uppsala, Sweden.
Abstract
The brain tissue obtained from ninety-five cognitively unimpaired subjects, with ages ranging from 22 to 50 years upon death, were immunohistochemically assessed for neurodegenerative changes, i.e., hyperphosphorylated tau (HPτ) and β-amyloid (Aβ) pathology in predilection neuroanatomical areas. HPτ pathology was observed in the transentorhinal cortex and/or the locus coeruleus (LC) in 33% of the subjects, without any obvious risk factors known to alter the microtubule-associated protein. HPτ pathology was noted in the LC in 25 out of 83 subjects (30%), lacking concomitant cortical Aβ or transentorhinal HPτ pathology. This observation was present even when assessing only one routine section of 7 μm thickness. The recent suggestion of prion-like propagation of neurodegeneration and the finding of neurodegeneration being quite common in middle-aged persons is alarming. It is noteworthy, however, that a substantial number of neurologically unimpaired subjects even at a very old age display only sparse to modest extent of neurodegenerative pathology. Thus, only a subset of subjects with neurodegenerative changes early in life seem to progress to a symptomatic disease with ageing. This observation brings forth the notion that other, yet unknown modifying factors influence the progression of degeneration that leads to a symptomatic disorder. The known association between alterations in the LC and mood disorders, and the finding of the LC being frequently affected with HPτ pathology suggest that clinicopathological studies on young subjects both with or without mood disorders are warranted.
Enriched odor exposure decrease tau phosphorylation in the rat hippocampus and cortex.
Source
Department of Pathophysiology, Key Laboratory of Neurological Diseases of Education Committee of China, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, PR China.
Abstract
Abnormally hyperphosphorylated microtubule-associated protein tau is the main component of the neurofibrillary tangles (NFT), a hallmark pathological feature of Alzheimer's disease (AD). A lot of studies suggested that there is highly neurobiological correlation between olfactory dysfunction and AD-like pathology, but the effect of the odor stimulation ontau phosphorylation remains unknown. Here, we examined the effect of short-term and long-term enriched odor exposure on the alterations of tau phosphorylation at multiple sites in the rat brains. We found that short-term odor enrichment did not affect the phosphorylation of tau, while long-term odor enrichment dramatically reduce the phosphorylation level oftau at Ser198/199/202, Thr231, Ser396, and Ser404 sites both in the hippocampus and cortex. These data suggest that long-term odor exposure prevent tau phosphorylation and may be a new therapeutic strategy of AD.
Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.
Emerging role of p62/sequestosome-1 in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease.
Source
Department of Neurology, Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Eastern Finland, P.O. Box 1627, FIN-70211 Kuopio, Finland; Department of Neurology, Kuopio University Hospital, P.O. Box 1777, FIN-70211 Kuopio, Finland.
Abstract
The p62/sequestosome-1 is a multifunctional protein containing several protein-protein interaction domains. Through these interactions p62 is involved in the regulation of cellular signaling and protein trafficking, aggregation and degradation. p62 protein can bind through its UBA motif to ubiquitinated proteins and control their aggregation and degradation via either autophagy or proteasomes. p62 protein has been reported to be seen in association with the intracellular inclusions in primary and secondary tauopathies, α-synucleinopathies and other neurodegenerative brain disorders displaying inclusions with misfolded proteins. In Alzheimer's disease (AD), p62 protein is associated with neurofibrillary tangles composed primarily of hyperphosphorylated tau protein and ubiquitin. Increasing evidence indicates that p62 has an important role in the degradation of tau protein. The lack of p62 protein expression provokes the tau pathology in mice. Recent studies have demonstrated that the p62 gene expression and cytoplasmic p62 protein levels are significantly reduced in the frontal cortex of AD patients. Decline in the level of p62 protein can disturb the signaling pathways of Nrf2, cyclic AMP and NF-κB and in that way increase oxidative stress and impair neuronal survival. We will review here the molecular and functional characteristics of p62 protein and outline its potential role in the regulation of Alzheimer's pathogenesis.
Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
CEREBRAL Aβ(42) DEPOSITS AND MICROVASCULAR PATHOLOGY IN AGEING BABOONS.
Source
Institute of Primate Research, National Museums of Kenya, Nairobi, Kenya; Paul Flechsig Institute for Brain Research, University of Leipzig, Germany; Department of Neurology, Hannover Medical School, Carl-Neuberg-Str. 1, 30625 Hannover, Germany; Institute for Ageing and Health, Newcastle University, NE4 5PL, UK.
Abstract
Background: Previous studies have extensively reported the deposition of amyloid β (Aβ) peptide with carboxyl- and amino-terminal heterogeneity in cortical and cerebrovascular deposits in Alzheimer's disease (AD) and in non-human primates except baboons. Methods: We examined the immunocytochemical distribution of Aβ peptides and Aβ oligomers in brain tissue from three subspecies of 18-28 year old baboons (Papio) and in other monkeys including the squirrel (Saimiri sciureus) and rhesus (Macaca mulatta) for comparison. Results: A general preponderance of Aβ(42) in parenchymal deposits and many vascular deposits in all cortical lobes was evident in the baboons. Aβοligomeric immunoreactivity was also apparent like to amyloid plaques. We found that the amino acid sequence of the Aβ domain of the baboon amyloid precursor protein is similar to that of man. In contrast to Aβ, immunoreactivity tohyperphosphorylated tau protein was largely intracellular and rare in these baboons. Brain tissues from squirrel and rhesus monkeys examined in parallel exhibited mostly vascular and parenchymal deposits containing Aβ(42) peptides. Our results were comparable to AD, but showed that even in younger monkeys exhibiting few deposits, Aβ(42) was evident in both parenchymal deposits and cerebral amyloid angiopathy. Perivascular amyloid deposits were frequent and often accompanied by microvascular abnormalities in the form of collapsed degenerated capillaries. Conclusions: Similar to other primates above and below in the phylogenetic order, our observations and evaluation of the literature implicate pathogenicity of Aβ(42) peptide associated with microvascular degeneration in baboons. We suggest baboons are useful animals to investigate the dynamics of AD-related pathology.
© 2011 The Authors. Neuropathology and Applied Neurobiology © 2011 British Neuropathological Society.
Interaction between α-synuclein and other proteins in neurodegenerative disorders.
Source
Institute of Clinical Neurobiology, Kenyongasse 18, A-1070 Vienna, Austria. kurt.jellinger@univie.ac.at
Abstract
Protein aggregation is a common characteristic of many neurodegenerative disorders, and the interaction between pathological/toxic proteins to cause neurodegeneration is a hot topic of current neuroscience research. Despite clinical, genetic, and experimental differences, evidence increasingly indicates considerable overlap between synucleinopathies and tauopathies or other protein-misfolding diseases. Inclusions, characteristics of these disorders, also occurring in other neurodegenerative diseases, suggest interactions of pathological proteins engaging common downstream pathways. Novel findings that have shifted our understanding in the role of pathologic proteins in the pathogenesis of Parkinson and Alzheimer diseases have confirmed correlations/overlaps between these and other neurodegenerative disorders. The synergistic effects of α-synuclein, hyperphosphorylated tau, amyloid-β, and other pathologic proteins, and the underlying molecular pathogenic mechanisms, including induction and spread of protein aggregates, are critically reviewed, suggesting a dualism or triad of neurodegeneration in protein-misfolding disorders, although the etiology of most of these processes is still mysterious.
(Val(8)) glucagon-like peptide-1 prevents tau hyperphosphorylation, impairment of spatial learning and ultra-structural cellular damage induced by streptozotocin in rat brains.
Source
Department of Physiology, Key Laboratory of Cellular Physiology, Ministry of Education, Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, 030001, PR China.
Abstract
It has being shown that glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1), a new anti-diabetes agent, significantly attenuated beta-amyloid (Aβ) levels in rats. In the present study, (Val(8))GLP-1 was used to prevent impairments in memory formation,tau hyperphosphorylation and ultra-structural changes induced by streptozotocin intracerebroventricular (i.c.v.) injection. A spatial water maze task was used to test the rats' learning and memory formation, Western blot was used to measuretau hyperphosphorylation/total tau, and transmission electron microscope was used to find ultra-structural changes. The results shown that streptozotocin induced a series of Alzheimer disease -like changes in behaviour, a significant decline in learning and memory formation, an increased expression of total tau and an increased ratio of phosphorylated tau, and damage to nucleus and nucleolus as seen in electron micrographs. After treatment with (Val(8))GLP-1 (50μM in 10μl i.c.v.), there is a significant improvement in learning and memory, a reduction in total tau expression andhyperphosphorylated tau levels, and a recovery of damaged cell nuclei and nucleolus. Our results indicated that (Val(8))GLP-1 might prevent age-related neurodegenerative changes by preventing decline of learning and memory formation, reduction of phosphorylated tau levels and protection of subcellular structures and morphology of neurons. Therefore, (Val(8))GLP-1 is potentially a novel treatment for Alzheimer's disease.
Copyright © 2011. Published by Elsevier B.V.
The Interface between Cytoskeletal Aberrations and Mitochondrial Dysfunction in Alzheimer's Disease and Related Disorders.
Source
Department of Neurosciences, University of California, San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA.
Abstract
The major defining pathological hallmarks of Alzheimer's disease (AD) are the accumulations of Aβ in senile plaques and hyperphosphorylated tau in neurofibrillary tangles and neuropil threads. Recent studies indicate that rather than these insoluble lesions, the soluble Aβ oligomers and hyperphosphorylated tau are the toxic agents of AD pathology. Such pathological protein species are accompanied by cytoskeletal changes, mitochondrial dysfunction, Ca(2+) dysregulation, and oxidative stress. In this review, we discuss how the binding of Aβ to various integrins, defects in downstream focal adhesion signaling, and activation of cofilin can impact mitochondrial dysfunction, cytoskeletal changes, and tau pathology induced by Aβ oligomers. Such pathological consequences can also feedback to further activate cofilin to promote cofilin pathology. We also suggest that the mechanism of Aβ generation by the endocytosis of APP is mechanistically linked with perturbations in integrin-based focal adhesion signaling, as APP, LRP, and β-integrins are physically associated with each other.
Defects in the medial entorhinal cortex and dentate gyrus in the mouse model of Sanfilippo syndrome type B.
Source
Department of Biological Chemistry, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, United States of America.
Abstract
Sanfilippo syndrome type B (MPS IIIB) is characterized by profound mental retardation in childhood, dementia and death in late adolescence; it is caused by deficiency of α-N-acetylglucosaminidase and resulting lysosomal storage of heparan sulfate. A mouse model, generated by homologous recombination of the Naglu gene, was used to study pathological changes in the brain. We found earlier that neurons in the medial entorhinal cortex (MEC) and the dentate gyrus showed a number of secondary defects, including the presence of hyperphosphorylated tau (Ptau) detected with antibodies raised against Ptau in Alzheimer disease brain. By further use of immunohistochemistry, we now show staining in neurons of the same area for beta amyloid, extending the resemblance to Alzheimer disease. Ptau inclusions in the dentate gyrus of MPS IIIB mice were reduced in number when the mice were administered LiCl, a specific inhibitor of Gsk3β. Additional proteins found elevated in MEC include proteins involved in autophagy and the heparan sulfate proteoglycans, glypicans 1 and 5, the latter closely related to the primary defect. The level of secondary accumulations was associated with elevation of glypican, as seen by comparing brains of mice at different ages or with different mucopolysaccharide storage diseases. The MEC of an MPS IIIA mouse had the same intense immunostaining for glypican 1 and other markers as MPS IIIB, while MEC of MPS I and MPS II mice had weak staining, and MEC of an MPS VI mouse had no staining at all for the same proteins. A considerable amount of glypican was found in MEC of MPS IIIB mice outside of lysosomes. We propose that it is the extralysosomal glypican that would be harmful to neurons, because its heparan sulfate branches could potentiate the formation of Ptau and beta amyloid aggregates, which would be toxic as well as difficult to degrade.
Abnormal cognition, sleep, EEG and brain metabolism in a novel knock-in Alzheimer mouse, PLB1.
Source
School of Medical Sciences, College of Life Sciences and Medicine, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, United Kingdom. b.platt@abdn.ac.uk
Abstract
Late-stage neuropathological hallmarks of Alzheimer's disease (AD) are β-amyloid (βA) and hyperphosphorylated taupeptides, aggregated into plaques and tangles, respectively. Corresponding phenotypes have been mimicked in existing transgenic mice, however, the translational value of aggressive over-expression has recently been questioned. As controlled gene expression may offer animal models with better predictive validity, we set out to design a transgenic mouse model that circumvents complications arising from pronuclear injection and massive over-expression, by targeted insertion of human mutated amyloid and tau transgenes, under the forebrain- and neurone-specific CaMKIIα promoter, termed PLB1(Double). Crossing with an existing presenilin 1 line resulted in PLB1(Triple) mice. PLB1(Triple) mice presented with stable gene expression and age-related pathology of intra-neuronal amyloid and hyperphosphorylated tauin hippocampus and cortex from 6 months onwards. At this early stage, pre-clinical (18)FDG PET/CT imaging revealed cortical hypometabolism with increased metabolic activity in basal forebrain and ventral midbrain. Quantitative EEG analyses yielded heightened delta power during wakefulness and REM sleep, and time in wakefulness was already reliably enhanced at 6 months of age. These anomalies were paralleled by impairments in long-term and short-term hippocampal plasticity and preceded cognitive deficits in recognition memory, spatial learning, and sleep fragmentation all emerging at ∼12 months. These data suggest that prodromal AD phenotypes can be successfully modelled in transgenic mice devoid of fibrillary plaque or tangle development. PLB1(Triple) mice progress from a mild (MCI-like) state to a more comprehensive AD-relevant phenotype, which are accessible using translational tools such as wireless EEG and microPET/CT.
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