Modeling Alzheimer's disease and other proteopathies in vivo: Is seeding the key?

L. C. Walker, F. Bian, M. J. Callahan, W. J. Lipinski, R. A. Durham, H. LeVine

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

32 Scopus citations

Abstract

Protein misfolding and aberrant polymerization are salient features of virtually all central neurodegenerative disorders, including Alzheimer's disease (AD), Parkinson's disease, triplet repeat disorders, tauopathies, and prion diseases. In many instances, a single amino acid change can predispose to disease by increasing the production and/or changing the biophysical properties of a specific protein. Possible pathogenic similarities among the cerebral proteopathies suggest that therapeutic agents interfering with the proteopathic cascade might be effective against a wide range of diseases. However, testing compounds preclinically will require disease-relevant animal models. Numerous transgenic mouse models of β-amyloidosis, tauopathy, and other aspects of AD have now been produced, but none of the existing models fully recapitulates the pathology of AD. In an attempt to more faithfully replicate the human disease, we infused dilute AD-brain extracts into Tg2576 mice at 3-months of age (i.e. 5-6 months prior to the usual onset of β-amyloid deposition). We found that intracerebral infusion of AD brain extracts results in: 1) Premature deposition of β-amyloid in eight month-old, β-amyloid precursor protein (βAPP)-transgenic mice (Kane et al., 2000); 2) augmented amyloid load in the injected hemisphere of 15 month-old transgenic mice; 3) evidence for the spread of pathology to other brain areas, possibly by neuronal transport mechanisms; and 4) tau hyperphosphorylation (but not neurofibrillary pathology) in axons passing through the injection site. The seeding of β-amyloidin vivo by AD brain extracts suggests pathogenic similarities between β-amyloidoses such as AD and other cerebral proteopathies such as the prionoses, and could provide a new model for studying the proteopathic cascade and its neuronal consequences in neurodegenerative diseases.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)87-93
Number of pages7
JournalAmino Acids
Volume23
Issue number1-3
DOIs
StatePublished - 2002

Keywords

  • Alzheimer's disease
  • Amyloid
  • Conformational disease
  • Huntington's disease
  • Parkinson's disease
  • Proteopathy
  • Senile plaque
  • Tau
  • Transgenic

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Biochemistry
  • Clinical Biochemistry
  • Organic Chemistry

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Modeling Alzheimer's disease and other proteopathies in vivo: Is seeding the key?'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this