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Rac1 activation links tau hyperphosphorylation and A? dysmetabolism in Alzheimer's disease.

ABSTRACT: One of the earliest pathological features characterizing Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the loss of dendritic spines. Among the many factors potentially mediating this loss of neuronal connectivity, the contribution of Rho-GTPases is of particular interest. This family of proteins has been known for years as a key regulator of actin cytoskeleton remodeling. More recent insights have indicated how its complex signaling might be triggered also in pathological conditions. Here, we showed that the Rho-GTPase family member Rac1 levels decreased in the frontal cortex of AD patients compared to non-demented controls. Also, Rac1 increased in plasma samples of AD patients with Mini-Mental State Examination

SUBMITTER: Borin M

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6045891 | biostudies-other | 2018 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-other

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Rac1 activation links tau hyperphosphorylation and Aβ dysmetabolism in Alzheimer's disease.

Borin Mirta M Saraceno Claudia C Catania Marcella M Lorenzetto Erika E Pontelli Valeria V Paterlini Anna A Fostinelli Silvia S Avesani Anna A Di Fede Giuseppe G Zanusso Gianluigi G Benussi Luisa L Binetti Giuliano G Zorzan Simone S Ghidoni Roberta R Buffelli Mario M Bolognin Silvia S

Acta neuropathologica communications 20180713 1

One of the earliest pathological features characterizing Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the loss of dendritic spines. Among the many factors potentially mediating this loss of neuronal connectivity, the contribution of Rho-GTPases is of particular interest. This family of proteins has been known for years as a key regulator of actin cytoskeleton remodeling. More recent insights have indicated how its complex signaling might be triggered also in pathological conditions. Here, we showed that the Rho- ...[more]

PMID: 30005699

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Project description:BackgroundAlzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common type of dementia, affecting one in eight adults over 65 years of age. The majority of AD cases are sporadic, with unknown etiology, and only 5% of all patients with AD present the familial monogenic form of the disease. In the present study, our aim was to establish an in vitro cell model based on patient-specific human neurons to study the pathomechanism of sporadic AD.MethodsWe compared neurons derived from induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) lines of patients with early-onset familial Alzheimer's disease (fAD), all caused by mutations in the PSEN1 gene; patients with late-onset sporadic Alzheimer's disease (sAD); and three control individuals without dementia. The iPSC lines were differentiated toward mature cortical neurons, and AD pathological hallmarks were analyzed by RT-qPCR, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, and Western blotting methods.ResultsNeurons from patients with fAD and patients with sAD showed increased phosphorylation of TAU protein at all investigated phosphorylation sites. Relative to the control neurons, neurons derived from patients with fAD and patients with sAD exhibited higher levels of extracellular amyloid-β 1-40 (Aβ1-40) and amyloid-β 1-42 (Aβ1-42). However, significantly increased Aβ1-42/Aβ1-40 ratios, which is one of the pathological markers of fAD, were observed only in samples of patients with fAD. Additionally, we detected increased levels of active glycogen synthase kinase 3 β, a physiological kinase of TAU, in neurons derived from AD iPSCs, as well as significant upregulation of amyloid precursor protein (APP) synthesis and APP carboxy-terminal fragment cleavage. Moreover, elevated sensitivity to oxidative stress, as induced by amyloid oligomers or peroxide, was detected in both fAD- and sAD-derived neurons.ConclusionsOn the basis of the experiments we performed, we can conclude there is no evident difference except secreted Aβ1-40 levels in phenotype between fAD and sAD samples. To our knowledge, this is the first study in which the hyperphosphorylation of TAU protein has been compared in fAD and sAD iPSC-derived neurons. Our findings demonstrate that iPSC technology is suitable to model both fAD and sAD and may provide a platform for developing new treatment strategies for these conditions.

Project description:ObjectiveMost neurodegenerative diseases contain hyperphosphorylated Tau [p-Tau]. We examined for the first time epitopes at which Tau is hyperphosphorylated in Parkinson's disease, dementia with Lewy bodies and Alzheimer's disease, and also select Tau kinases.MethodsPostmortem frontal cortex from Parkinson's disease, dementia with Lewy bodies, Alzheimer's disease and striata from Parkinson's disease, were analyzed by immunoblots using commercially available antibodies against 20 different phospho-epitopes of Tau. Major Tau kinases were also screened. Results in diseased tissues were compared to nondiseased controls.ResultsIn Alzheimer's disease, Tau was hyperphosphorylated at all the 20 epitopes of p-Tau. In dementia with Lewy bodies, p-Tau formation occurred at 6 sites sharing 30% overlap with Alzheimer's disease, while in Parkinson's frontal cortex, an area which does not degenerate, Tau hyperphosphorylation was seen at just 3 epitopes, indicating 15% overlap with Alzheimer's disease. In Parkinson's disease striatum, an area which undergoes considerable neurodegeneration, Tau was hyperphosphorylated at 10 epitopes, sharing 50% overlap with Alzheimer's disease. Between frontal cortex of Parkinson's disease and dementia with Lewy bodies, there were only two p-Tau epitopes in common. In striata of Parkinson's disease, there were 3 clusters of Tau hyperphosphorylated at 3 contiguous sites, while two such clusters were detected in dementia with Lewy bodies; such clusters disrupt axonal transport of mitochondria, cause microtubule remodeling and result in cell death. p-GSK-3β, a major Tau kinase, was activated in all brain regions examined, except in dementia with Lewy bodies. Activation of other Tau kinases was seen in all brain regions, with no clear pattern of activation.InterpretationOur studies suggest that the three neurodegenerative diseases each have a signature-specific profile of p-Tau formation which may be useful in understanding the genesis of the diseases and for the development of a panel of specific biomarkers.

Project description:Some aged community dogs acquire a degenerative syndrome termed Canine Cognitive Dysfunction (CCD) that resembles human dementia because of Alzheimer's Disease (AD), with comparable cognitive and behavioral deficits. Dogs also have similar neuroanatomy, share our domestic environment and develop amyloid-β plaques, making them likely a valuable ecological model of AD. However, prior investigations have demonstrated a lack of neurofibrillary tau pathology in aged dogs, an important hallmark of AD, though elevated phosphorylated tau (p-tau) at the Serine 396 (S396) epitope has been reported in CCD. Here using enhanced immunohistochemical methods, we investigated p-tau in six CCD brains and six controls using the AT8 antibody (later stage neurofibrillary pathology), and an antibody against S396 p-tau (earlier stage tau dysfunction). For the first time, we systematically assessed the Papez circuit and regions associated with Braak staging and found that all CCD dogs displayed elevated S396 p-tau labeling throughout the circuit. The limbic thalamus was particularly implicated, with a similar labeling pattern to that reported for AD neurofibrillary pathology, especially the anterior nuclei, while the hippocampus exhibited dysfunction confined to synaptic layers and efferent pathways. The cingulate and temporal lobes displayed significantly greater tauopathy than the frontal and occipital cortices, also reflective of early Braak staging patterns in AD. Immunofluorescence confirmed that S396 was accumulating within neuronal axons, somata and oligodendrocytes. We also observed AT8 labeling in one CCD brain, near the transentorhinal cortex in layer II neurons, one of the first regions to be affected in AD. Together, these data demonstrate a concordance in regional distribution of tauopathy between CCD and AD, most evident in the limbic thalamus, an important step in further validating CCD as a translational model for human AD and understanding early AD pathogenic mechanisms.

Dataset Information

Rac1 activation links tau hyperphosphorylation and A? dysmetabolism in Alzheimer's disease.

Publications

Rac1 activation links tau hyperphosphorylation and Aβ dysmetabolism in Alzheimer's disease.

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