Dataset Information

Acute Pannexin 1 Blockade Mitigates Early Synaptic Plasticity Defects in a Mouse Model of Alzheimer's Disease.

ABSTRACT: Synaptic loss induced by soluble oligomeric forms of the amyloid ? peptide (sA?os) is one of the earliest events in Alzheimer's disease (AD) and is thought to be the major cause of the cognitive deficits. These abnormalities rely on defects in synaptic plasticity, a series of events manifested as activity-dependent modifications in synaptic structure and function. It has been reported that pannexin 1 (Panx1), a nonselective channel implicated in cell communication and intracellular signaling, modulates the induction of excitatory synaptic plasticity under physiological contexts and contributes to neuronal death under inflammatory conditions. Here, we decided to study the involvement of Panx1 in functional and structural defects observed in excitatory synapses of the amyloid precursor protein (APP)/presenilin 1 (PS1) transgenic (Tg) mice, an animal model of AD. We found an age-dependent increase in the Panx1 expression that correlates with increased A? levels in hippocampal tissue from Tg mice. Congruently, we also observed an exacerbated Panx1 activity upon basal conditions and in response to glutamate receptor activation. The acute inhibition of Panx1 activity with the drug probenecid (PBN) did not change neurodegenerative parameters such as amyloid deposition or astrogliosis, but it significantly reduced excitatory synaptic defects in the AD model by normalizing long-term potentiation (LTP) and depression and improving dendritic arborization and spine density in hippocampal neurons of the Tg mice. These results suggest a major contribution of Panx1 in the early mechanisms leading to the synaptopathy in AD. Indeed, PBN induced a reduction in the activation of p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK), a kinase widely implicated in the early neurotoxic signaling in AD. Our data strongly suggest that an enhanced expression and activation of Panx1 channels contribute to the A?-induced cascades leading to synaptic dysfunction in AD.

SUBMITTER: Flores-Munoz C

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7103637 | biostudies-literature | 2020

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Acute Pannexin 1 Blockade Mitigates Early Synaptic Plasticity Defects in a Mouse Model of Alzheimer's Disease.

Flores-Muñoz Carolina C Gómez Bárbara B Mery Elena E Mujica Paula P Gajardo Ivana I Córdova Claudio C Lopez-Espíndola Daniela D Durán-Aniotz Claudia C Hetz Claudio C Muñoz Pablo P Gonzalez-Jamett Arlek M AM Ardiles Álvaro O ÁO

Frontiers in cellular neuroscience 20200319

Synaptic loss induced by soluble oligomeric forms of the amyloid β peptide (sAβos) is one of the earliest events in Alzheimer's disease (AD) and is thought to be the major cause of the cognitive deficits. These abnormalities rely on defects in synaptic plasticity, a series of events manifested as activity-dependent modifications in synaptic structure and function. It has been reported that pannexin 1 (Panx1), a nonselective channel implicated in cell communication and intracellular signaling, mo ...[more]

PMID: 32265655

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Project description:BackgroundIdentifying effective strategies to prevent memory loss in AD has eluded researchers to date, and likely reflects insufficient understanding of early pathogenic mechanisms directly affecting memory encoding. As synaptic loss best correlates with memory loss in AD, refocusing efforts to identify factors driving synaptic impairments may provide the critical insight needed to advance the field. In this study, we reveal a previously undescribed cascade of events underlying pre and postsynaptic hippocampal signaling deficits linked to cognitive decline in AD. These profound alterations in synaptic plasticity, intracellular Ca2+ signaling, and network propagation are observed in 3-4 month old 3xTg-AD mice, an age which does not yet show overt histopathology or major behavioral deficits.MethodsIn this study, we examined hippocampal synaptic structure and function from the ultrastructural level to the network level using a range of techniques including electron microscopy (EM), patch clamp and field potential electrophysiology, synaptic immunolabeling, spine morphology analyses, 2-photon Ca2+ imaging, and voltage-sensitive dye-based imaging of hippocampal network function in 3-4 month old 3xTg-AD and age/background strain control mice.ResultsIn 3xTg-AD mice, short-term plasticity at the CA1-CA3 Schaffer collateral synapse is profoundly impaired; this has broader implications for setting long-term plasticity thresholds. Alterations in spontaneous vesicle release and paired-pulse facilitation implicated presynaptic signaling abnormalities, and EM analysis revealed a reduction in the ready-releasable and reserve pools of presynaptic vesicles in CA3 terminals; this is an entirely new finding in the field. Concurrently, increased synaptically-evoked Ca2+ in CA1 spines triggered by LTP-inducing tetani is further enhanced during PTP and E-LTP epochs, and is accompanied by impaired synaptic structure and spine morphology. Notably, vesicle stores, synaptic structure and short-term plasticity are restored by normalizing intracellular Ca2+ signaling in the AD mice.ConclusionsThese findings suggest the Ca2+ dyshomeostasis within synaptic compartments has an early and fundamental role in driving synaptic pathophysiology in early stages of AD, and may thus reflect a foundational disease feature driving later cognitive impairment. The overall significance is the identification of previously unidentified defects in pre and postsynaptic compartments affecting synaptic vesicle stores, synaptic plasticity, and network propagation, which directly impact memory encoding.

Dataset Information

Acute Pannexin 1 Blockade Mitigates Early Synaptic Plasticity Defects in a Mouse Model of Alzheimer's Disease.

Publications

Acute Pannexin 1 Blockade Mitigates Early Synaptic Plasticity Defects in a Mouse Model of Alzheimer's Disease.

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