1
|
Klonarakis M, De Vos M, Woo E, Ralph L, Thacker JS, Gil-Mohapel J. The three sisters of fate: Genetics, pathophysiology and outcomes of animal models of neurodegenerative diseases. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2022; 135:104541. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2022.104541] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/03/2021] [Revised: 11/28/2021] [Accepted: 01/13/2022] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
|
2
|
Vogels T, Vargová G, Brezováková V, Quint WH, Hromádka T. Viral Delivery of Non-Mutated Human Truncated Tau to Neurons Recapitulates Key Features of Human Tauopathy in Wild-Type Mice. J Alzheimers Dis 2021; 77:551-568. [PMID: 32675411 DOI: 10.3233/jad-200047] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Neuronal accumulation of hyperphosphorylated and truncated tau aggregates is one of the major defining factors and key drivers of neurodegeneration in Alzheimer's disease and other tauopathies. OBJECTIVE We developed an AAV-induced model of tauopathy mediated by human truncated tau protein without familial frontotemporal dementia-related mutations to study tau propagation and the functional consequences of tau pathology. METHODS We performed targeted transductions of the hippocampus or entorhinal cortex in adult mice followed by histological analysis to study the progression of hippocampal tau pathology and tau spreading. We performed behavioral analysis of mice with AAV-induced hippocampal tau pathology. RESULTS AAV-induced hippocampal tau pathology was characterized by tau hyperphosphorylation (AT8 positivity), sarkosyl insolubility, and the presence of neurofibrillary tangles. AAV-induced tau pathology was associated with microgliosis and hypertrophic astrocytes in the absence of cognitive deficits. Additionally, the co-expression of mCherry fluorescent protein and human truncated tau enabled us to detect both local spreading of human tau and spreading from the entorhinal cortex to the synaptically connected dentate gyrus. CONCLUSION Targeted delivery of AAV with truncated tau protein into subcortical and cortical structures of mammalian brains represents an efficient approach for creating temporally and spatially well-defined tau pathology suitable for in vivo studies of tau propagation and neuronal circuit deficits in Alzheimer's disease.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Thomas Vogels
- Axon Neuroscience R & D Services SE, Bratislava, Slovakia
| | - Gréta Vargová
- Institute of Neuroimmunology, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Bratislava, Slovakia
| | | | | | - Tomáš Hromádka
- Axon Neuroscience R & D Services SE, Bratislava, Slovakia.,Institute of Neuroimmunology, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Bratislava, Slovakia
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Jayatunga DPW, Hone E, Bharadwaj P, Garg M, Verdile G, Guillemin GJ, Martins RN. Targeting Mitophagy in Alzheimer's Disease. J Alzheimers Dis 2020; 78:1273-1297. [PMID: 33285629 DOI: 10.3233/jad-191258] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
Mitochondria perform many essential cellular functions including energy production, calcium homeostasis, transduction of metabolic and stress signals, and mediating cell survival and death. Maintaining viable populations of mitochondria is therefore critical for normal cell function. The selective disposal of damaged mitochondria, by a pathway known as mitophagy, plays a key role in preserving mitochondrial integrity and quality. Mitophagy reduces the formation of reactive oxygen species and is considered as a protective cellular process. Mitochondrial dysfunction and deficits of mitophagy have important roles in aging and especially in neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer's disease (AD). Targeting mitophagy pathways has been suggested to have potential therapeutic effects against AD. In this review, we aim to briefly discuss the emerging concepts on mitophagy, molecular regulation of the mitophagy process, current mitophagy detection methods, and mitophagy dysfunction in AD. Finally, we will also briefly examine the stimulation of mitophagy as an approach for attenuating neurodegeneration in AD.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Dona P W Jayatunga
- Centre of Excellence for Alzheimer's Disease Research & Care, School of Medical and Health Sciences, Edith Cowan University, Joondalup, WA, Australia
| | - Eugene Hone
- Centre of Excellence for Alzheimer's Disease Research & Care, School of Medical and Health Sciences, Edith Cowan University, Joondalup, WA, Australia.,Cooperative Research Centre for Mental Health, Carlton, VIC, Australia
| | - Prashant Bharadwaj
- Centre of Excellence for Alzheimer's Disease Research & Care, School of Medical and Health Sciences, Edith Cowan University, Joondalup, WA, Australia.,Cooperative Research Centre for Mental Health, Carlton, VIC, Australia
| | - Manohar Garg
- School of Biomedical Sciences and Pharmacy, Faculty of Health and Medicine, University of Newcastle, Callaghan, NSW, Australia.,Riddet Institute, Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand
| | - Giuseppe Verdile
- Centre of Excellence for Alzheimer's Disease Research & Care, School of Medical and Health Sciences, Edith Cowan University, Joondalup, WA, Australia.,School of Pharmacy and Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, Curtin Health Innovation Research Institute, Curtin University, Perth, WA, Australia
| | - Gilles J Guillemin
- Department of Pharmacology, School of Medical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia.,St. Vincent's Centre for Applied Medical Research, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Ralph N Martins
- Centre of Excellence for Alzheimer's Disease Research & Care, School of Medical and Health Sciences, Edith Cowan University, Joondalup, WA, Australia.,Australian Alzheimer's Research Foundation, Ralph and Patricia Sarich Neuroscience Research Institute, Nedlands, WA, Australia.,Department of Biomedical Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW, Australia.,School of Psychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences, University of Western Australia, Perth, WA, Australia.,KaRa Institute of Neurological Diseases, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Malcolm JC, Breuillaud L, Do Carmo S, Hall H, Welikovitch LA, Macdonald JA, Goedert M, Cuello AC. Neuropathological changes and cognitive deficits in rats transgenic for human mutant tau recapitulate human tauopathy. Neurobiol Dis 2019; 127:323-338. [PMID: 30905766 PMCID: PMC6597947 DOI: 10.1016/j.nbd.2019.03.018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/25/2019] [Revised: 03/08/2019] [Accepted: 03/20/2019] [Indexed: 01/01/2023] Open
Abstract
The assembly of tau protein into abnormal filaments and brain cell degeneration are characteristic of a number of human neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer's disease and frontotemporal dementia and parkinsonism linked to chromosome 17. Several murine models have been generated to better understand the mechanisms contributing to tau assembly and neurodegeneration. Taking advantage of the more elaborate central nervous system and higher cognitive abilities of the rat, we generated a model expressing the longest human tau isoform (2N4R) with the P301S mutation. This transgenic rat line, R962-hTau, exhibits the main features of human tauopathies, such as: age-dependent increase in inclusions comprised of aggregated-tau, neuronal loss, global neurodegeneration as reflected by brain atrophy and ventricular dilation, alterations in astrocytic and microglial morphology, and myelin loss. In addition, substantial deficits across multiple memory and learning paradigms, including novel object recognition, fear conditioning and Morris water maze tasks, were observed at the time of advanced tauopathy. These results support the concept that progressive tauopathy correlates with brain atrophy and cognitive impairment.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Janice C Malcolm
- Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, McGill University, Montréal, QC H3A 0C7, Canada
| | - Lionel Breuillaud
- Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, McGill University, Montréal, QC H3G 1Y6, Canada
| | - Sonia Do Carmo
- Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, McGill University, Montréal, QC H3G 1Y6, Canada
| | - Hélène Hall
- Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, McGill University, Montréal, QC H3G 1Y6, Canada
| | - Lindsay A Welikovitch
- Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery, McGill University, Montréal, QC H3A 2B4, Canada
| | | | - Michel Goedert
- Medical Research Council Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Cambridge CB2 0QH, UK
| | - A Claudio Cuello
- Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, McGill University, Montréal, QC H3A 0C7, Canada; Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, McGill University, Montréal, QC H3G 1Y6, Canada; Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery, McGill University, Montréal, QC H3A 2B4, Canada.
| |
Collapse
|