Rapid appearance and local toxicity of amyloid-beta plaques in a mouse model of Alzheimer's disease

Senile plaques accumulate over the course of decades in the brains of patients with Alzheimer’s disease. A fundamental tenet of the amyloid hypothesis of Alzheimer’s disease is that the deposition of amyloid-β precedes and induces the neuronal abnormalities that underlie dementia(1). This idea has been challenged, however, by the suggestion that alterations in axonal trafficking and morphological abnormalities precede and lead to senile plaques(2). The role of microglia in accelerating or retarding these processes has been uncertain. To investigate the temporal relation between plaque formation and the changes in local neuritic architecture, we used longitudinal in vivo multiphoton microscopy to sequentially image young APPswe/PS1d9xYFP (B6C3-YFP) transgenic mice(3). Here we show that plaques form extraordinarily quickly, over 24 h. Within 1–2 days of a new plaque’s appearance, microglia are activated and recruited to the site. Progressive neuritic changes ensue, leading to increasingly dysmorphic neurites over the next days to weeks. These data establish plaques as a critical mediator of neuritic pathology

Anti-apoE immunotherapy inhibits amyloid accumulation in a transgenic mouse model of Aβ amyloidosis

The apolipoprotein E (APOE) ε4 allele is the strongest genetic risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease (AD). The influence of apoE on amyloid β (Aβ) accumulation may be the major mechanism by which apoE affects AD. ApoE interacts with Aβ and facilitates Aβ fibrillogenesis in vitro. In addition, apoE is one of the protein components in plaques. We hypothesized that certain anti-apoE antibodies, similar to certain anti-Aβ antibodies, may have antiamyloidogenic effects by binding to apoE in the plaques and activating microglia-mediated amyloid clearance. To test this hypothesis, we developed several monoclonal anti-apoE antibodies. Among them, we administered HJ6.3 antibody intraperitoneally to 4-mo-old male APPswe/PS1ΔE9 mice weekly for 14 wk. HJ6.3 dramatically decreased amyloid deposition by 60–80% and significantly reduced insoluble Aβ40 and Aβ42 levels. Short-term treatment with HJ6.3 resulted in strong changes in microglial responses around Aβ plaques. Collectively, these results suggest that anti-apoE immunization may represent a novel AD therapeutic strategy and that other proteins involved in Aβ binding and aggregation might also be a target for immunotherapy. Our data also have important broader implications for other amyloidosis. Immunotherapy to proteins tightly associated with misfolded proteins might open up a new treatment option for many protein misfolding diseases

Monitoring protein aggregation and toxicity in Alzheimer's disease mouse models using in vivo imaging

Aggregation of amyloid beta peptide into senile plaques and hyperphosphorylated tau protein into neurofibrillary tangles in the brain are the pathological hallmarks of Alzheimer’s disease. Despite over a century of research into these lesions, the exact relationship between pathology and neurotoxicity has yet to be fully elucidated. In order to study the formation of plaques and tangles and their effects on the brain, we have applied multiphoton in vivo imaging of transgenic mouse models of Alzheimer’s disease. This technique allows longitudinal imaging of pathological aggregation of proteins and the subsequent changes in surrounding neuropil neurodegeneration and recovery after therapeutic interventions

Abnormal accumulation of autophagic vesicles correlates with axonal and synaptic pathology in young Alzheimer’s mice hippocampus

Dystrophic neurites associated with amyloid plaques precede neuronal death and manifest early in Alzheimer’s disease (AD). In this work we have characterized the plaque-associated neuritic pathology in the hippocampus of young (4- to 6-month-old) PS1M146L/APP751SL mice model, as the initial degenerative process underlying functional disturbance prior to neuronal loss. Neuritic plaques accounted for almost all fibrillar deposits and an axonal origin of the dystrophies was demonstrated. The early induction of autophagy pathology was evidenced by increased protein levels of the autophagosome marker LC3 that was localized in the axonal dystrophies, and by electron microscopic identification of numerous autophagic vesicles filling and causing the axonal swellings. Early neuritic cytoskeletal defects determined by the presence of phosphorylated tau (AT8-positive) and actin–cofilin rods along with decreased levels of kinesin-1 and dynein motor proteins could be responsible for this extensive vesicle accumulation within dystrophic neurites. Although microsomal Aβ oligomers were identified, the presence of A11-immunopositive Aβ plaques also suggested a direct role of plaque-associated Aβ oligomers in defective axonal transport and disease progression. Most importantly, presynaptic terminals morphologically disrupted by abnormal autophagic vesicle buildup were identified ultrastructurally and further supported by synaptosome isolation. Finally, these early abnormalities in axonal and presynaptic structures might represent the morphological substrate of hippocampal dysfunction preceding synaptic and neuronal loss and could significantly contribute to AD pathology in the preclinical stages