Search

Background: Accumulation of tau is a characteristic hallmark of several neurodegenerative diseases and is associated with neuronal hypoactivity and presynaptic dysfunction. Oral administration of the adenosine A1 receptor antagonist rolofylline (KW-3902) has been shown previously to reverse spatial memory deficits and to normalize the basic synaptic transmission in a mouse line expressing full-length proaggregant tau (TauΔK). Methods: Using a combination of behavioral assays, imaging by PET with several PET-tracers, and analysis of brain tissue, we studied the curative reversal of tau pathology by blocking adenosine A1 receptors in transgenic mice expressing different types of tau and tau mutants. Results: We show by positron emission tomography using the tracer [18F]CPFPX (a selective A1 receptor ligand) that intravenous injection of rolofylline effectively blocks A1 receptors in the brain. Moreover, when administered to TauΔK mice, rolofylline can reverse tau pathology and synaptic decay. The beneficial effects are not restricted to the full-length TauΔK mouse line as they were also observed in a line with more aggressive tau pathology, expressing the amyloidogenic repeat domain of tau (TauRDΔK) with higher aggregation propensity. Both transgenic models develop a progressive tau pathology with missorting, phosphorylation, local accumulation of tau, loss of synapses and cognitive decline. TauRDΔK causes pronounced neurofibrillary tangle assembly concomitant with neuronal death, whereas TauΔK accumulates only to tau pretangles without overt neuronal loss. A third model tested, the rTg4510 line has a high expression of mutant TauP301L and hence a very aggressive phenotype starting at ~3 months of age. This line failed to reverse pathology upon rolofylline treatment, consistent with higher accumulation of tau-specific PET tracers and inflammation. Conclusions: Blocking adenosine A1 receptors by rolofylline can reverse pathology if the pathological potential of tau remains below a threshold value that depends on concentration and aggregation propensity. Thus, reversal is possible even in presence of potent pro-aggregant mutants near physiological tau levels but is overwhelmed by high levels of mutant tau, accompanied by intense neuroinflammation.

We report on a novel transgenic mouse model expressing human full-length Tau with the Tau mutation A152T (hTau(AT)), a risk factor for FTD-spectrum disorders including PSP and CBD Brain neurons reveal pathological Tau conformation, hyperphosphorylation, mis-sorting, aggregation, neuronal degeneration, and progressive loss, most prominently in area CA3 of the hippocampus. The mossy fiber pathway shows enhanced basal synaptic transmission without changes in short- or long-term plasticity. In organotypic hippocampal slices, extracellular glutamate increases early above control levels, followed by a rise in neurotoxicity. These changes are normalized by inhibiting neurotransmitter release or by blocking voltage-gated sodium channels. CA3 neurons show elevated intracellular calcium during rest and after activity induction which is sensitive to NR2B antagonizing drugs, demonstrating a pivotal role of extrasynaptic NMDA receptors. Slices show pronounced epileptiform activity and axonal sprouting of mossy fibers. Excitotoxic neuronal death is ameliorated by ceftriaxone, which stimulates astrocytic glutamate uptake via the transporter EAAT2/GLT1. In summary, hTau(AT) causes excitotoxicity mediated by NR2B-containing NMDA receptors due to enhanced extracellular glutamate.

Accumulation of amyloidogenic proteins such as Tau is a hallmark of neurodegenerative diseases including Alzheimer disease and fronto-temporal dementias. To link Tau pathology to cognitive impairments and defects in synaptic plasticity, we created four inducible Tau transgenic mouse models with expression of pro- and anti-aggregant variants of either full-length human Tau (hTau40/ΔK280 and hTau40/ΔK280/PP) or the truncated Tau repeat domain (Tau(RD)/ΔK280 and Tau(RD)/ΔK280/PP). Here we review the histopathological features caused by pro-aggregant Tau, and correlate them with behavioral deficits and impairments in synaptic transmission. Both pro-aggregant Tau variants cause Alzheimer-like features, including synapse loss, mis-localization of Tau into the somatodendritic compartment, conformational changes and hyperphosphorylation. However, there is a clear difference in the extent of Tau aggregation and neurotoxicity. While pro-aggregant full-length hTau40/ΔK280 leads to a 'pre-tangle' pathology, the repeat domain Tau(RD)/ΔK280 causes massive formation of neurofibrillary tangles and neuronal loss in the hippocampus. However, both Tau variants cause co-aggregation of human and mouse Tau and similar functional impairments. Thus, earlier Tau pathological stages and not necessarily neurofibrillary tangles are critical for the development of cognitive malfunctions. Most importantly, memory and synapses recover after switching off expression of pro-aggregant Tau. The rescue of functional impairments correlates with the rescue of most Tau pathological changes and most strikingly the recovery of synapses. This implies that tauopathies as such are reversible, provided that amyloidogenic Tau is removed. Therefore, our Tau transgenic mice may serve as model systems for in vivo validation of therapeutic strategies and drug candidates with regard to cognition and synaptic function.

This report describes the behavioral and electrophysiological analysis of regulatable transgenic mice expressing mutant repeat domains of human Tau (TauRD). Mice were generated to express TauRDin two forms, differing in their propensity for β-structure and thus in their tendency for aggregation (“pro-aggregant” or “anti-aggregant”) (Mocanu et al., 2008). Only pro-aggregant mice show pronounced changes typical for Tau pathology in Alzheimer's disease (aggregation, missorting, hyperphosphorylation, synaptic and neuronal loss), indicating that the β-propensity and hence the ability to aggregate is a key factor in the disease. We now tested the mice with regard to neuromotor parameters, behavior, learning and memory, and synaptic plasticity and correlated this with histological and biochemical parameters in different stages of switching TauRDon or off. The mice are normal in neuromotor tests. However, pro-aggregant TauRDmice are strongly impaired in memory and show pronounced loss of long-term potentiation (LTP), suggesting that Tau aggregation specifically perturbs these brain functions. Remarkably, when the expression of human pro-aggregant TauRDis switched on for ∼10 months and off for ∼4 months, memory and LTP recover, whereas aggregates decrease moderately and change their composition from mixed human plus mouse Tau to mouse Tau only. Neuronal loss persists, but synapses are partially rescued. This argues that continuous presence of amyloidogenic pro-aggregant TauRDconstitutes the main toxic insult for memory and LTP, rather than the aggregates as such.

Background: Aggregates of the tau protein are a hallmark of Alzheimer’s and several other neurodegenerative diseases. Various transgenic mouse models have been generated to study the aggregation process. Since wild-type tau is highly soluble and does not aggregate readily, most models make use of tau mutations that occur in human frontotemporal dementias and are more prone to aggregate. These mouse models show neurofibrillary tangles similar to those of Alzheimer’s disease. However, since the mice contain both endogenous wild-type mouse tau and exogenous human mutant tau, the relative contribution of these components to the aggregates has been a matter of debate. Objective:Using a new set of regulatable transgenic mouse models, we sought to determine whether mouse tau coaggregates with human tau when it is switched on. Furthermore, we asked what type of tau remains in the aggregates after switching off the expression of exogenous tau. Methods: We generated doxycycline-inducible transgenic mice expressing either full-length human tau or the tau repeat domain (tauRD). In addition, both types of human tau derivatives were expressed in a ‘proaggregant’ form (with the frontotemporal dementia with parkinsonism linked to chromosome 17 mutation ΔK280), or in an ‘antiaggregant’ form (with additional proline mutations to block β-structure and aggregation). Results:The proaggregant tauRD mice develop tangles rapidly after induction, the antiaggregant mice do not. Analysis by biochemistry and immunohistology reveals that the tangles contain both exogenous and endogenous mouse tau. After switching off the proaggregant tauRD, tangles persist for extended periods. However, they are composed entirely of mouse tau. Conclusions:Mouse tau and exogenous human tau can coaggregate in transgenic models of tauopathy. The aggregates are in dynamic equilibrium with their subunits, so that exogenous tau disappears when its expression is switched off. Once the seeds of aggregation are generated by the foreign tau species, they propagate in a ‘prion-like’ fashion within the cell even after the foreign tau has disappeared.

Our aging society is confronted with a dramatic increase of patients suffering from tauopathies, which include Alzheimer disease and certain frontotemporal dementias. These disorders are characterized by typical neuropathological lesions including hyperphosphorylation and subsequent aggregation of TAU protein and neuronal cell death. Currently, no mechanism-based cures are available. We generated fluorescently labeled TAU transgenic zebrafish, which rapidly recapitulated key pathological features of tauopathies, including phosphorylation and conformational changes of human TAU protein, tangle formation, neuronal and behavioral disturbances, and cell death. Due to their optical transparency and small size, zebrafish larvae are well suited for both in vivo imaging and drug development. TAU-induced neuronal cell death was imaged by time-lapse microscopy in vivo. Furthermore, we used this zebrafish model to identify compounds targeting the TAU kinase glycogen synthase kinase 3(3 (GSK3 beta). We identified a newly developed highly active GSK3 beta inhibitor, AR-534, by rational drug design. AR-534 reduced TAU phosphorylation in TAU transgenic zebrafish. This transgenic zebrafish model may become a valuable tool for further studies of the neuropathology of dementia.