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Isotope-labeled amyloid-β does not transmit to the brain in a prion-like manner after peripheral administration

ABSTRACT: Findings of early cerebral amyloid-β deposition in mice after peripheral injection of amyloid-β-containing brain extracts, and in humans following cadaveric human growth hormone treatment raised concerns that amyloid-β aggregates and possibly Alzheimer's disease may be transmissible between individuals. Yet, proof that Aβ actually reaches the brain from the peripheral injection site is lacking. Here, we use a proteomic approach combining stable isotope labeling of mammals and targeted mass spectrometry. Specifically, we generate 13C-isotope-labeled brain extracts from mice expressing human amyloid-β and track 13C-lysine-labeled amyloid-β after intraperitoneal administration into young amyloid precursor protein-transgenic mice. We detect injected amyloid-β in the liver and lymphoid tissues for up to 100 days. In contrast, injected 13C-lysine-labeled amyloid-β is not detectable in the brain whereas the mice incorporate 13C-lysine from the donor brain extracts into endogenous amyloid-β. Using a highly sensitive and specific proteomic approach, we demonstrate that amyloid-β does not reach the brain from the periphery. Our study argues against potential transmissibility of Alzheimer's disease while opening new avenues to uncover mechanisms of pathophysiological protein deposition.

SUBMITTER: Dr. Mirjam Brackhan

PROVIDER: S-SCDT-EMBOR-2021-54405V1 | biostudies-other |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-other

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Project description:BackgroundApoJ/clusterin is a multifunctional protein highly expressed in the brain. The implication of ApoJ in β-amyloid (Aβ) fibrillization and clearance in the context of Alzheimer's disease has been widely studied, although the source and concentration of ApoJ that promotes or inhibits Aβ cerebral accumulation is not clear yet. ApoJ is abundant in plasma and approximately 20% can appear bound to HDL-particles. In this regard, the impact of plasmatic ApoJ and its lipidation status on cerebral β-amyloidosis is still not known. Hence, our main objective was to study the effect of a peripheral increase of free ApoJ or reconstituted HDL particles containing ApoJ in an experimental model of cerebral β-amyloidosis.MethodsFourteen-month-old APP23 transgenic mice were subjected to subchronic intravenous treatment with rHDL-rApoJ nanodiscs or free rApoJ for 1 month. Aβ concentration and distribution in the brain, as well as Aβ levels in plasma and CSF, were determined after treatments. Other features associated to AD pathology, such as neuronal loss and neuroinflammation, were also evaluated.ResultsBoth ApoJ-based treatments prevented the Aβ accumulation in cerebral arteries and induced a decrease in total brain insoluble Aβ42 levels. The peripheral treatment with rApoJ also induced an increase in the Aβ40 levels in CSF, whereas the concentration remained unaltered in plasma. At all the endpoints studied, the lipidation of rApoJ did not enhance the protective properties of free rApoJ. The effects obtained after subchronic treatment with free rApoJ were accompanied by a reduction in hippocampal neuronal loss and an enhancement of the expression of a phagocytic marker in microglial cells surrounding Aβ deposits. Finally, despite the activation of this phagocytic phenotype, treatments did not induce a global neuroinflammatory status. In fact, free rApoJ treatment was able to reduce the levels of interleukin-17 (IL17) and keratinocyte chemoattractant (KC) chemokine in the brain.ConclusionsOur results demonstrate that an increase in circulating human rApoJ induces a reduction of insoluble Aβ and CAA load in the brain of APP23 mice. Thus, our study suggests that peripheral interventions, based on treatments with multifunctional physiological chaperones, offer therapeutic opportunities to regulate the cerebral Aβ load.

Project description:Clinical and animal model studies have implicated inflammation and peripheral immune cell responses in the pathophysiology of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Peripheral immune cells including T cells circulate in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of healthy adults and are found in the brains of AD patients and AD rodent models. Blocking entry of peripheral macrophages into the CNS was reported to increase amyloid burden in an AD mouse model. To assess inflammation in the 5xFAD (Tg) mouse model, we first quantified central and immune cell profiles in the deep cervical lymph nodes and spleen. In the brains of Tg mice, activated (MHCII+, CD45high, and Ly6Chigh) myeloid-derived CD11b+ immune cells are decreased while CD3+ T cells are increased as a function of age relative to non-Tg mice. These immunological changes along with evidence of increased mRNA levels for several cytokines suggest that immune regulation and trafficking patterns are altered in Tg mice. Levels of soluble Tumor Necrosis Factor (sTNF) modulate blood-brain barrier (BBB) permeability and are increased in CSF and brain parenchyma post-mortem in AD subjects and Tg mice. We report here that in vivo peripheral administration of XPro1595, a novel biologic that sequesters sTNF into inactive heterotrimers, reduced the age-dependent increase in activated immune cells in Tg mice, while decreasing the overall number of CD4+ T cells. In addition, XPro1595 treatment in vivo rescued impaired long-term potentiation (LTP) measured in brain slices in association with decreased Aβ plaques in the subiculum. Selective targeting of sTNF may modulate brain immune cell infiltration, and prevent or delay neuronal dysfunction in AD.Significance statementImmune cells and cytokines perform specialized functions inside and outside the brain to maintain optimal brain health; but the extent to which their activities change in response to neuronal dysfunction and degeneration is not well understood. Our findings indicate that neutralization of sTNF reduced the age-dependent increase in activated immune cells in Tg mice, while decreasing the overall number of CD4+ T cells. In addition, impaired long-term potentiation (LTP) was rescued by XPro1595 in association with decreased hippocampal Aβ plaques. Selective targeting of sTNF holds translational potential to modulate brain immune cell infiltration, dampen neuroinflammation, and prevent or delay neuronal dysfunction in AD.

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Isotope-labeled amyloid-β does not transmit to the brain in a prion-like manner after peripheral administration

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