Inhibition of Tau aggregation with BSc3094 reduces Tau and decreases cognitive deficits in rTg4510 mice.
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ABSTRACT: Background
One of the major hallmarks of Alzheimer's disease (AD)is the aberrant modification and aggregation of the microtubule-associated protein Tau . The extent of Tau pathology correlates with cognitive decline, strongly implicating Tau in the pathogenesis of the disease. Because the inhibition of Tau aggregation may be a promising therapeutic target, we tested the efficacy of BSc3094, an inhibitor of Tau aggregation, in reducing Tau pathology and ameliorating the disease symptoms in transgenic mice.Methods
Mice expressing human Tau with the P301L mutation (line rTg4510) were infused with BSc3094 into the lateral ventricle using Alzet osmotic pumps connected to a cannula that was placed on the skull of the mice, thus bypassing the blood-brain barrier (BBB) . The drug treatment lasted for 2 months, and the effect of BSc3094 on cognition and on reversing hallmarks of Tau pathology was assessed.Results
BSc3094 significantly reduced the levels of Tau phosphorylation and sarkosyl-insoluble Tau. In addition, the drug improved cognition in different behavioral tasks and reduced anxiety-like behavior in the transgenic mice used in the study.Conclusions
Our in vivo investigations demonstrated that BSc3094 is capable of partially reducing the pathological hallmarks typically observed in Tau transgenic mice, highlighting BSc3094 as a promising compound for a future therapeutic approach for AD.
SUBMITTER: Anglada-Huguet M
PROVIDER: S-EPMC8168941 | biostudies-literature |
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
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Project description:BackgroundWe recently reported that Parkinsonian and dementia phenotypes emerge between 7-12 months of age in tau-/- mice on a Bl6/129sv mixed background. These observations were partially replicated by another group using pure Bl6 background tau-/- mice, but notably they did not observe a cognitive phenotype. A third group using Bl6 background tau-/- mice found cognitive impairment at 20-months of age.ResultsTo reconcile the observations, here we considered the genetic, dietary and environmental variables in both studies, and performed an extended set of behavioral studies on 12-month old tau+/+, tau+/-, and tau-/- mice comparing Bl6/129sv to Bl6 backgrounds. We found that tau-/- in both backgrounds exhibited reduced tyrosine hydroxylase-positive nigral neuron and impaired motor function in all assays used, which was ameliorated by oral treatment with L-DOPA, and not confounded by changes in body weight. Tau-/- in the C57BL6/SV129 background exhibited deficits in the Y-maze cognition task, but the mice on the Bl6 background did not.ConclusionsThese results validate our previous report on the neurodegenerative phenotypes of aged tau-/- mice, and show that genetic background may impact the extent of cognitive impairment in these mice. Therefore excessive lowering of tau should be avoided in therapeutic strategies for AD.
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