Tau pathology in early Alzheimer's disease is linked to selective disruptions in neurophysiological network dynamics.
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ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Kocagoncu E
PROVIDER: S-EPMC7269692 | biostudies-literature |
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
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Project description:Previous research has emphasized the unique impact of Alzheimer's Disease (AD) pathology on the medial temporal lobe (MTL), a reflection that tau pathology is particularly striking in the entorhinal and transentorhinal cortex (ERC, TEC) early in the course of disease. However, other brain regions are affected by AD pathology during its early phases. Here, we use longitudinal diffeomorphometry to measure the atrophy rate from MRI of the amygdala compared with that in the ERC and TEC in cognitively unimpaired (CU) controls, CU individuals who progressed to mild cognitive impairment (MCI), and individuals with MCI who progressed to dementia of the AD type (DAT), using a dataset from the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI). Our results show significantly higher atrophy rates of the amygdala in both groups of 'converters' (CU→MCI, MCI→DAT) compared to controls, with rates of volume loss comparable to rates of thickness loss in the ERC and TEC. We localize atrophy within the amygdala within each of these groups using fixed effects modeling. Controlling for the familywise error rate highlights the medial regions of the amygdala as those with significantly higher atrophy in both groups of converters than in controls. Using our recently developed method, referred to as Projective LDDMM, we map measures of neurofibrillary tau tangles (NFTs) from digital pathology to MRI atlases and reconstruct dense 3D spatial distributions of NFT density within regions of the MTL. The distribution of NFTs is consistent with the spatial distribution of MR measured atrophy rates, revealing high densities (and atrophy) in the amygdala (particularly medial), ERC, and rostral third of the MTL. The similarity of the location of NFTs in AD and shape changes in a well-defined clinical population suggests that amygdalar atrophy rate, as measured through MRI may be a viable biomarker for AD.
| S-EPMC10034129 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Neurofibrillary tangles advance from layer II of the entorhinal cortex (EC-II) toward limbic and association cortices as Alzheimer's disease evolves. However, the mechanism involved in this hierarchical pattern of disease progression is unknown. We describe a transgenic mouse model in which overexpression of human tau P301L is restricted to EC-II. Tau pathology progresses from EC transgene-expressing neurons to neurons without detectable transgene expression, first to EC neighboring cells, followed by propagation to neurons downstream in the synaptic circuit such as the dentate gyrus, CA fields of the hippocampus, and cingulate cortex. Human tau protein spreads to these regions and coaggregates with endogenous mouse tau. With age, synaptic degeneration occurs in the entorhinal target zone and EC neurons are lost. These data suggest that a sequence of progressive misfolding of tau proteins, circuit-based transfer to new cell populations, and deafferentation induced degeneration are part of a process of tau-induced neurodegeneration.
| S-EPMC3292759 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BackgroundThe spread of tau pathology in Alzheimer's disease (AD) is mediated by cell-to-cell transmission of pathological tau seeds released from neurons that, upon internalization by recipient neurons, template the misfolding of naïve cellular tau, thereby propagating fibrillization. We hypothesize that anti-tau monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) that selectively bind to pathological tau seeds will inhibit propagation of tau aggregates and reduce the spread of tau pathology in vivo.MethodsWe inoculated mice with human AD brain-derived extracts containing tau paired helical filaments (AD-tau) and identified two novel mAbs, DMR7 and SKT82, that selectively bind to a misfolded pathological conformation of tau relative to recombinant tau monomer. To evaluate the effects of these mAbs on the spread of pathological tau in vivo, 5xFAD mice harboring significant brain Aβ plaque burden were unilaterally injected with AD-tau in the hippocampus, to initiate the formation of neuritic plaque (NP) tau pathology, and were treated weekly with intraperitoneal (i.p.) injections of DMR7, SKT82, or IgG isotype control mAbs.ResultsDMR7 and SKT82 bind epitopes comprised of the proline-rich domain and c-terminal region of tau and binding is reduced upon disruption of the pathological conformation of AD-tau by chemical and thermal denaturation. We found that both DMR7 and SKT82 immunoprecipitate pathological tau and significantly reduce the seeding of cellular tau aggregates induced by AD-tau in primary neurons by 60.5 + 13.8% and 82.2 + 8.3%, respectively, compared to IgG control. To investigate the mechanism of mAb inhibition, we generated pH-sensitive fluorophore-labeled recombinant tau fibrils seeded by AD-tau to track internalization of tau seeds and demonstrate that the conformation-selective tau mAbs inhibit the internalization of tau seeds. DMR7 and SKT82 treatment reduced hyperphosphorylated NP tau as measured with AT8 immunohistochemistry (IHC) staining, but did not achieve statistical significance in the contralateral cortex and SKT82 significantly reduced tau pathology in the ipsilateral hippocampus by 24.2%; p = 0.044.ConclusionsThese findings demonstrate that conformation-selective tau mAbs, DMR7 and SKT82, inhibit tau pathology in primary neurons by preventing the uptake of tau seeds and reduce tau pathology in vivo, providing potential novel therapeutic candidates for the treatment of AD.
| S-EPMC7643305 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Synaptic dysfunction and disconnectivity are core deficits in Alzheimer's disease (AD), preceding clear changes in histopathology and cognitive functioning. Here, the early and late effects of tau pathology induction on functional network connectivity were investigated in P301L mice. Multichannel EEG oscillations were used to compute (1) coherent activity between the prefrontal cortex (PFC) and hippocampus (HPC) CA1-CA3 networks; (2) phase-amplitude cross frequency coupling (PAC) between theta and gamma oscillations, which is instrumental in adequate cognitive functioning; (3) information processing as assessed by auditory evoked potentials and oscillations in the passive oddball mismatch negativity-like (MMN) paradigm. At the end, the density of tau aggregation and GABA parvalbumin (PV+) interneurons were quantified by immunohistochemistry. Early weakening of EEG theta oscillations and coherent activity were revealed between the PFC and HPC CA1 and drastic impairments in theta-gamma oscillations PAC from week 2 onwards, while PV+ interneurons count was not altered. Moreover, the tau pathology disrupted the MMN complex amplitude and evoked gamma oscillations to standard and deviant stimuli suggesting altered memory formation and recall. The induction of intracellular tau aggregation by tau seed injection results in early altered connectivity and strong theta-gamma oscillations uncoupling, which may be exploited as an early electrophysiological signature of dysfunctional neuronal networks.
| S-EPMC5660172 | biostudies-literature
Project description:IntroductionWe examine the role of brain apolipoprotein B (apoB) as a putative marker of early tau pathology and cognitive decline.MethodsCerebrospinal fluid (CSF) samples from cognitively normal and Alzheimer's disease (AD) participants were collected to measure protein levels of apoB and AD biomarkers amyloid beta (Aβ), t-tau and p-tau, as well as synaptic markers GAP43, SYNAPTOTAGMIN-1, synaptosome associated protein 25 (SNAP-25), and NEUROGRANIN. CSF apoB levels were contrasted with positron emission tomography (PET) scan measures of Aβ (18F-NAV4694) and Tau (flortaucipir) along with cognitive assessment alterations over 6 to 8 years.ResultsCSF apoB levels were elevated in AD participants and correlated with t-tau, p-tau, and the four synaptic markers in pre-symptomatic individuals. In the latter, CSF apoB levels correlated with PET flortaucipir-binding in entorhinal, parahippocampal, and fusiform regions. Baseline CSF apoB levels were associated with longitudinal visuospatial cognitive decline.DiscussionCSF apoB markedly associates with early tau dysregulation in asymptomatic subjects and identifies at-risk individuals predisposed to develop visuospatial cognitive decline over time.
| S-EPMC9293308 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Pathological tau aggregates in Alzheimer's disease (AD) and frontotemporal lobar degeneration-tau (FTLD-tau) adopt distinct conformations differentiated by the AD-tau specific monoclonal antibody (mAb) GT-38 that are not readily visualized using phosphorylation-specific anti-tau mAbs. To determine the extent of co-morbid AD-tau pathology in FTLD-tau, we performed immunohistochemical (IHC) staining with GT-38 and assigned Braak stages of AD-tau in a cohort 180 FTLD-tau cases consisting of corticobasal degeneration (CBD; n = 49), progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP; n = 109), and Pick's disease (PiD; n = 22). Nearly two-thirds of patients (n = 115 of 180, 63.8%) with FTLD-tau had some degree of comorbid AD-tau pathology and 20.5% of the FTLD-tau cohort had Braak stage ≥B2, consistent with medium-to-high-level AD neuropathological change (ADNPC). The PSP group had the highest frequency of medium-high AD-tau pathology compared to other tauopathies (PSP = 31/109, 28.4%; Picks = 2/22, 9.1%, CBD = 4/49, 8.2%) but neuropathological diagnosis was not found to be a significant independent predictor of medium-high AD Braak stage in a multivariate model after accounting for age at death (OR = 1.09; 95% CI = 1.03-1.15; p = 0.002) and CERAD plaque scores (OR = 3.75, 95% CI = 1.58-8.89; p = 0.003), suggesting there is no predilection for a specific FTLD tauopathy to develop AD-tau co-pathology after accounting for age. Patients with FTLD-tau who had, clinically significant, medium-high AD-tau pathology had significantly higher antemortem CSF levels of both total-tau (t-tau; mean = 89.98 pg/ml, SD = 36.70 pg/ml) and phosphorylated-tau (p-tau; mean = 20.45 pg/ml, SD = 9.31 pg/ml) compared to patients with negligible-low AD-tau, t-tau (mean = 43.04 pg/ml, SD = 25.40 pg/ml) and p-tau (mean = 11.90 pg/ml, SD = 4.48 pg/ml) (p ≤ 0.001 both). Finally, in an exploratory analysis in our largest pathology group (PSP) we find an association of GT-38 AD-tau Braak stage with lower baseline MMSE (p = 0.03). Together, these finding validate the use of GT-38 to selectively detect AD-tau pathology in the context of FTLD-tau and provides a novel tool to investigate associations of clinical phenotypes amongst co-morbid tauopathies.
| S-EPMC6399892 | biostudies-literature
Project description:In late-onset Alzheimer's disease (AD), multiple brain regions are not affected simultaneously. Comparing the gene expression of the affected regions to identify the differences in the biological processes perturbed can lead to greater insight into AD pathogenesis and early characteristics. We identified differentially expressed (DE) genes from single cell microarray data of four AD affected brain regions: entorhinal cortex (EC), hippocampus (HIP), posterior cingulate cortex (PCC), and middle temporal gyrus (MTG). We organized the DE genes in the four brain regions into region-specific gene coexpression networks. Differential neighborhood analyses in the coexpression networks were performed to identify genes with low topological overlap (TO) of their direct neighbors. The low TO genes were used to characterize the biological differences between two regions. Our analyses show that increased oxidative stress, along with alterations in lipid metabolism in neurons, may be some of the very early events occurring in AD pathology. Cellular defense mechanisms try to intervene but fail, finally resulting in AD pathology as the disease progresses. Furthermore, disease annotation of the low TO genes in two independent protein interaction networks has resulted in association between cancer, diabetes, renal diseases, and cardiovascular diseases.
| S-EPMC4132486 | biostudies-literature
Project description:IntroductionThe cytoprotective PTEN-induced kinase 1 (PINK1)-parkin RBR E3 ubiquitin protein ligase (PRKN) pathway selectively labels damaged mitochondria with phosphorylated ubiquitin (pS65-Ub) for their autophagic removal (mitophagy). Because dysfunctions of mitochondria and degradation pathways are early features of Alzheimer's disease (AD), mitophagy impairments may contribute to the pathogenesis.MethodsMorphology, levels, and distribution of the mitophagy tag pS65-Ub were evaluated by biochemical analyses combined with tissue and single cell imaging in AD autopsy brain and in transgenic mouse models.ResultsAnalyses revealed significant increases of pS65-Ub levels in AD brain, which strongly correlated with granulovacuolar degeneration (GVD) and early phospho-tau deposits, but were independent of amyloid beta pathology. Single cell analyses revealed predominant co-localization of pS65-Ub with mitochondria, GVD bodies, and/or lysosomes depending on the brain region analyzed.DiscussionOur study highlights mitophagy alterations in AD that are associated with early tau pathology, and suggests that distinct mitochondrial, autophagic, and/or lysosomal failure may contribute to the selective vulnerability in disease.
| S-EPMC8048674 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Alzheimer's disease (AD) is defined by the presence of intraneuronal neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs) composed of hyperphosphorylated tau aggregates as well as extracellular amyloid-beta plaques. The presence and spread of tau pathology through the brain is classified by Braak stages and thought to correlate with the progression of AD. Several in vitro and in vivo studies have examined the ability of tau pathology to move from one neuron to the next, suggesting a "prion-like" spread of tau aggregates may be an underlying cause of Braak tau staging in AD. Using the HEK293 TauRD-P301S-CFP/YFP expressing biosensor cells as a highly sensitive and specific tool to identify the presence of seed competent aggregated tau in brain lysate-i.e., tau aggregates that are capable of recruiting and misfolding monomeric tau-, we detected substantial tau seeding levels in the entorhinal cortex from human cases with only very rare NFTs, suggesting that soluble tau aggregates can exist prior to the development of overt tau pathology. We next looked at tau seeding levels in human brains of varying Braak stages along six regions of the Braak Tau Pathway. Tau seeding levels were detected not only in the brain regions impacted by pathology, but also in the subsequent non-pathology containing region along the Braak pathway. These data imply that pathogenic tau aggregates precede overt tau pathology in a manner that is consistent with transneuronal spread of tau aggregates. We then detected tau seeding in frontal white matter tracts and the optic nerve, two brain regions comprised of axons that contain little to no neuronal cell bodies, implying that tau aggregates can indeed traverse along axons. Finally, we isolated cytosolic and synaptosome fractions along the Braak Tau Pathway from brains of varying Braak stages. Phosphorylated and seed competent tau was significantly enriched in the synaptic fraction of brain regions that did not have extensive cellular tau pathology, further suggesting that aggregated tau seeds move through the human brain along synaptically connected neurons. Together, these data provide further evidence that the spread of tau aggregates through the human brain along synaptically connected networks results in the pathogenesis of human Alzheimer's disease.
| S-EPMC5928393 | biostudies-literature
Project description:The disruption of brain networks is characteristic of neurodegenerative dementias. However, it is controversial whether changes in connectivity reflect only the functional anatomy of disease, with selective vulnerability of brain networks, or the specific neurophysiological consequences of different neuropathologies within brain networks. We proposed that the oscillatory dynamics of cortical circuits reflect the tuning of local neural interactions, such that different pathologies are selective in their impact on the frequency spectrum of oscillations, whereas clinical syndromes reflect the anatomical distribution of pathology and physiological change. To test this hypothesis, we used magnetoencephalography from five patient groups, representing dissociated pathological subtypes and distributions across frontal, parietal and temporal lobes: amnestic Alzheimer's disease, posterior cortical atrophy, and three syndromes associated with frontotemporal lobar degeneration. We measured effective connectivity with graph theory-based measures of local efficiency, using partial directed coherence between sensors. As expected, each disease caused large-scale changes of neurophysiological brain networks, with reductions in local efficiency compared to controls. Critically however, the frequency range of altered connectivity was consistent across clinical syndromes that shared a likely underlying pathology, whilst the localization of changes differed between clinical syndromes. Multivariate pattern analysis of the frequency-specific topographies of local efficiency separated the disorders from each other and from controls (accuracy 62% to 100%, according to the groups' differences in likely pathology and clinical syndrome). The data indicate that magnetoencephalography has the potential to reveal specific changes in neurophysiology resulting from neurodegenerative disease. Our findings confirm that while clinical syndromes have characteristic anatomical patterns of abnormal connectivity that may be identified with other methods like structural brain imaging, the different mechanisms of neurodegeneration also cause characteristic spectral signatures of physiological coupling that are not accessible with structural imaging nor confounded by the neurovascular signalling of functional MRI. We suggest that these spectral characteristics of altered connectivity are the result of differential disruption of neuronal microstructure and synaptic physiology by Alzheimer's disease versus frontotemporal lobar degeneration.
| S-EPMC6061803 | biostudies-other