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Denkinger M, Baker S, Inglis B, Kobayashi S, Juarez A, Mason S, Jagust W. Associations between regional blood-brain barrier permeability, aging, and Alzheimer's disease biomarkers in cognitively normal older adults. PLoS One 2024; 19:e0299764. [PMID: 38837947 PMCID: PMC11152304 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0299764] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/20/2024] [Accepted: 05/05/2024] [Indexed: 06/07/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Increased blood-brain barrier permeability (BBBp) has been hypothesized as a feature of aging that may lead to the development of Alzheimer's disease (AD). We sought to identify the brain regions most vulnerable to greater BBBp during aging and examine their regional relationship with neuroimaging biomarkers of AD. METHODS We studied 31 cognitively normal older adults (OA) and 10 young adults (YA) from the Berkeley Aging Cohort Study (BACS). Both OA and YA received dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI (DCE-MRI) to quantify Ktrans values, as a measure of BBBp, in 37 brain regions across the cortex. The OA also received Pittsburgh compound B (PiB)-PET to create distribution volume ratios (DVR) images and flortaucipir (FTP)- PET to create partial volume corrected standardized uptake volume ratios (SUVR) images. Repeated measures ANOVA assessed the brain regions where OA showed greater BBBp than YA. In OA, Ktrans values were compared based on sex, Aβ positivity status, and APOE4 carrier status within a composite region across the areas susceptible to aging. We used linear models and sparse canonical correlation analysis (SCCA) to examine the relationship between Ktrans and AD biomarkers. RESULTS OA showed greater BBBp than YA predominately in the temporal lobe, with some involvement of parietal, occipital and frontal lobes. Within an averaged ROI of affected regions, there was no difference in Ktrans values based on sex or Aβ positivity, but OA who were APOE4 carriers had significantly higher Ktrans values. There was no direct relationship between averaged Ktrans and global Aβ pathology, but there was a trend for an Ab status by tau interaction on Ktrans in this region. SCCA showed increased Ktrans was associated with increased PiB DVR, mainly in temporal and parietal brain regions. There was not a significant relationship between Ktrans and FTP SUVR. DISCUSSION Our findings indicate that the BBB shows regional vulnerability during normal aging that overlaps considerably with the pattern of AD pathology. Greater BBBp in brain regions affected in aging is related to APOE genotype and may also be related to the pathological accumulation of Aβ.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marisa Denkinger
- Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, California, United States of America
| | - Suzanne Baker
- Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, California, United States of America
| | - Ben Inglis
- Henry H. Wheeler Jr. Brain Imaging Center, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, California, United States of America
| | - Sarah Kobayashi
- Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, California, United States of America
| | - Alexis Juarez
- Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, California, United States of America
| | - Suzanne Mason
- Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, California, United States of America
| | - William Jagust
- Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, California, United States of America
- Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, California, United States of America
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De Strooper B, Karran E. New precision medicine avenues to the prevention of Alzheimer's disease from insights into the structure and function of γ-secretases. EMBO J 2024; 43:887-903. [PMID: 38396302 PMCID: PMC10943082 DOI: 10.1038/s44318-024-00057-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/18/2023] [Revised: 01/20/2024] [Accepted: 02/06/2024] [Indexed: 02/25/2024] Open
Abstract
Two phase-III clinical trials with anti-amyloid peptide antibodies have met their primary goal, i.e. slowing of Alzheimer's disease (AD) progression. However, antibody therapy may not be the optimal therapeutic modality for AD prevention, as we will discuss in the context of the earlier small molecules described as "γ-secretase modulators" (GSM). We review here the structure, function, and pathobiology of γ-secretases, with a focus on how mutations in presenilin genes result in early-onset AD. Significant progress has been made in generating compounds that act in a manner opposite to pathogenic presenilin mutations: they stabilize the proteinase-substrate complex, thereby increasing the processivity of substrate cleavage and altering the size spectrum of Aβ peptides produced. We propose the term "γ-secretase allosteric stabilizers" (GSAS) to distinguish these compounds from the rather heterogenous class of GSM. The GSAS represent, in theory, a precision medicine approach to the prevention of amyloid deposition, as they specifically target a discrete aspect in a complex cell biological signalling mechanism that initiates the pathological processes leading to Alzheimer's disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bart De Strooper
- Dementia Research Institute, Institute of Neurology, University College London, at the Francis Crick Institute, London, NW1 AT, UK.
- Laboratory for the Research of Neurodegenerative Diseases, VIB Center for Brain & Disease Research, and Leuven Brain Institute, KU Leuven, Leuven, 3000, Belgium.
| | - Eric Karran
- Cambridge Research Center, AbbVie, Inc., Cambridge, MA, USA
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Burnham SC, Iaccarino L, Pontecorvo MJ, Fleisher AS, Lu M, Collins EC, Devous MD. A review of the flortaucipir literature for positron emission tomography imaging of tau neurofibrillary tangles. Brain Commun 2023; 6:fcad305. [PMID: 38187878 PMCID: PMC10768888 DOI: 10.1093/braincomms/fcad305] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/04/2023] [Revised: 09/13/2023] [Accepted: 11/14/2023] [Indexed: 01/09/2024] Open
Abstract
Alzheimer's disease is defined by the presence of β-amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tau tangles potentially preceding clinical symptoms by many years. Previously only detectable post-mortem, these pathological hallmarks are now identifiable using biomarkers, permitting an in vivo definitive diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease. 18F-flortaucipir (previously known as 18F-T807; 18F-AV-1451) was the first tau positron emission tomography tracer to be introduced and is the only Food and Drug Administration-approved tau positron emission tomography tracer (Tauvid™). It has been widely adopted and validated in a number of independent research and clinical settings. In this review, we present an overview of the published literature on flortaucipir for positron emission tomography imaging of neurofibrillary tau tangles. We considered all accessible peer-reviewed literature pertaining to flortaucipir through 30 April 2022. We found 474 relevant peer-reviewed publications, which were organized into the following categories based on their primary focus: typical Alzheimer's disease, mild cognitive impairment and pre-symptomatic populations; atypical Alzheimer's disease; non-Alzheimer's disease neurodegenerative conditions; head-to-head comparisons with other Tau positron emission tomography tracers; and technical considerations. The available flortaucipir literature provides substantial evidence for the use of this positron emission tomography tracer in assessing neurofibrillary tau tangles in Alzheimer's disease and limited support for its use in other neurodegenerative disorders. Visual interpretation and quantitation approaches, although heterogeneous, mostly converge and demonstrate the high diagnostic and prognostic value of flortaucipir in Alzheimer's disease.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | - Ming Lu
- Avid, Eli Lilly and Company, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
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Vogel JW, Corriveau-Lecavalier N, Franzmeier N, Pereira JB, Brown JA, Maass A, Botha H, Seeley WW, Bassett DS, Jones DT, Ewers M. Connectome-based modelling of neurodegenerative diseases: towards precision medicine and mechanistic insight. Nat Rev Neurosci 2023; 24:620-639. [PMID: 37620599 DOI: 10.1038/s41583-023-00731-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 07/26/2023] [Indexed: 08/26/2023]
Abstract
Neurodegenerative diseases are the most common cause of dementia. Although their underlying molecular pathologies have been identified, there is substantial heterogeneity in the patterns of progressive brain alterations across and within these diseases. Recent advances in neuroimaging methods have revealed that pathological proteins accumulate along specific macroscale brain networks, implicating the network architecture of the brain in the system-level pathophysiology of neurodegenerative diseases. However, the extent to which 'network-based neurodegeneration' applies across the wide range of neurodegenerative disorders remains unclear. Here, we discuss the state-of-the-art of neuroimaging-based connectomics for the mapping and prediction of neurodegenerative processes. We review findings supporting brain networks as passive conduits through which pathological proteins spread. As an alternative view, we also discuss complementary work suggesting that network alterations actively modulate the spreading of pathological proteins between connected brain regions. We conclude this Perspective by proposing an integrative framework in which connectome-based models can be advanced along three dimensions of innovation: incorporating parameters that modulate propagation behaviour on the basis of measurable biological features; building patient-tailored models that use individual-level information and allowing model parameters to interact dynamically over time. We discuss promises and pitfalls of these strategies for improving disease insights and moving towards precision medicine.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jacob W Vogel
- Department of Clinical Sciences, SciLifeLab, Lund University, Lund, Sweden.
| | - Nick Corriveau-Lecavalier
- Department of Neurology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA
| | - Nicolai Franzmeier
- Institute for Stroke and Dementia Research (ISD), University Hospital, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany
- Munich Cluster for Systems Neurology (SyNergy), Munich, Germany
- Department of Psychiatry and Neurochemistry, Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, The Sahlgrenska Acadamy, University of Gothenburg, Mölndal and Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - Joana B Pereira
- Clinical Memory Research Unit, Department of Clinical Sciences, Lund University, Malmö, Sweden
- Neuro Division, Department of Clinical Neurosciences, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Jesse A Brown
- Memory and Aging Center, Department of Neurology, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Anne Maass
- German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE), Magdeburg, Germany
| | - Hugo Botha
- Department of Neurology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA
| | - William W Seeley
- Memory and Aging Center, Department of Neurology, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA
- Department of Pathology, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Dani S Bassett
- Departments of Bioengineering, Electrical and Systems Engineering, Physics and Astronomy, Neurology and Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
- Santa Fe Institute, Santa Fe, NM, USA
| | - David T Jones
- Department of Neurology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA
- Department of Radiology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA
| | - Michael Ewers
- Institute for Stroke and Dementia Research (ISD), University Hospital, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany.
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