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Tapella L, Dematteis G, La Vitola P, Leva S, Tonelli E, Raddi M, Delconti M, Dacomo L, La Macchia A, Murari E, Talmon M, Malecka J, Chrostek G, Grilli M, Colombo L, Salmona M, Forloni G, Genazzani AA, Balducci C, Lim D. Genetic deletion of astrocytic calcineurin B1 prevents cognitive impairment and neuropathology development in acute and chronic mouse models of Alzheimer's disease. Glia 2024; 72:899-915. [PMID: 38288580 DOI: 10.1002/glia.24509] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/21/2023] [Revised: 01/15/2024] [Accepted: 01/18/2024] [Indexed: 03/20/2024]
Abstract
Alzheimer's disease (AD) represents an urgent yet unmet challenge for modern society, calling for exploration of innovative targets and therapeutic approaches. Astrocytes, main homeostatic cells in the CNS, represent promising cell-target. Our aim was to investigate if deletion of the regulatory CaNB1 subunit of calcineurin in astrocytes could mitigate AD-related memory deficits, neuropathology, and neuroinflammation. We have generated two, acute and chronic, AD mouse models with astrocytic CaNB1 ablation (ACN-KO). In the former, we evaluated the ability of β-amyloid oligomers (AβOs) to impair memory and activate glial cells once injected in the cerebral ventricle of conditional ACN-KO mice. Next, we generated a tamoxifen-inducible astrocyte-specific CaNB1 knock-out in 3xTg-AD mice (indACNKO-AD). CaNB1 was deleted, by tamoxifen injection, in 11.7-month-old 3xTg-AD mice for 4.4 months. Spatial memory was evaluated using the Barnes maze; β-amyloid plaques burden, neurofibrillary tangle deposition, reactive gliosis, and neuroinflammation were also assessed. The acute model showed that ICV injected AβOs in 2-month-old wild type mice impaired recognition memory and fostered a pro-inflammatory microglia phenotype, whereas in ACN-KO mice, AβOs were inactive. In indACNKO-AD mice, 4.4 months after CaNB1 depletion, we found preservation of spatial memory and cognitive flexibility, abolishment of amyloidosis, and reduction of neurofibrillary tangles, gliosis, and neuroinflammation. Our results suggest that ACN is crucial for the development of cognitive impairment, AD neuropathology, and neuroinflammation. Astrocyte-specific CaNB1 deletion is beneficial for both the abolishment of AβO-mediated detrimental effects and treatment of ongoing AD-related pathology, hence representing an intriguing target for AD therapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura Tapella
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Università del Piemonte Orientale, Novara, Italy
| | - Giulia Dematteis
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Università del Piemonte Orientale, Novara, Italy
| | - Pietro La Vitola
- Department of Neuroscience, Istituto di Ricerche Farmacologiche Mario Negri IRCCS, Milano, Italy
| | - Susanna Leva
- Department of Neuroscience, Istituto di Ricerche Farmacologiche Mario Negri IRCCS, Milano, Italy
| | - Elisa Tonelli
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Università del Piemonte Orientale, Novara, Italy
| | - Marco Raddi
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Università del Piemonte Orientale, Novara, Italy
| | - Marta Delconti
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Università del Piemonte Orientale, Novara, Italy
| | - Letizia Dacomo
- Department of Neuroscience, Istituto di Ricerche Farmacologiche Mario Negri IRCCS, Milano, Italy
| | - Alberto La Macchia
- Department of Neuroscience, Istituto di Ricerche Farmacologiche Mario Negri IRCCS, Milano, Italy
| | - Elisa Murari
- Department of Neuroscience, Istituto di Ricerche Farmacologiche Mario Negri IRCCS, Milano, Italy
| | - Maria Talmon
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Università del Piemonte Orientale, Novara, Italy
| | - Justyna Malecka
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Università del Piemonte Orientale, Novara, Italy
| | - Gabriela Chrostek
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Università del Piemonte Orientale, Novara, Italy
| | - Mariagrazia Grilli
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Università del Piemonte Orientale, Novara, Italy
| | - Laura Colombo
- Department of Neuroscience, Istituto di Ricerche Farmacologiche Mario Negri IRCCS, Milano, Italy
| | - Mario Salmona
- Department of Neuroscience, Istituto di Ricerche Farmacologiche Mario Negri IRCCS, Milano, Italy
| | - Gianluigi Forloni
- Department of Neuroscience, Istituto di Ricerche Farmacologiche Mario Negri IRCCS, Milano, Italy
| | - Armando A Genazzani
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Università del Piemonte Orientale, Novara, Italy
| | - Claudia Balducci
- Department of Neuroscience, Istituto di Ricerche Farmacologiche Mario Negri IRCCS, Milano, Italy
| | - Dmitry Lim
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Università del Piemonte Orientale, Novara, Italy
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