Alzheimer's Disease Brain Samples Research Articles

Integrative Single-Plaque Analysis Reveals Signature Aβ and Lipid Profiles in the Alzheimer's Brain.

Cerebral accumulation of amyloid-β (Aβ) initiates molecular and cellular cascades that lead to Alzheimer's disease (AD). However, amyloid deposition does not invariably lead to dementia. Amyloid-positive but cognitively unaffected (AP-CU) individuals present widespread amyloid pathology, suggesting that molecular signatures more complex than the total amyloid burden are required to better differentiate AD from AP-CU cases. Motivated by the essential role of Aβ and the key lipid involvement in AD pathogenesis, we applied multimodal mass spectrometry imaging (MSI) and machine learning (ML) to investigate amyloid plaque heterogeneity, regarding Aβ and lipid composition, in AP-CU versus AD brain samples at the single-plaque level. Instead of focusing on a population mean, our analytical approach allowed the investigation of large populations of plaques at the single-plaque level. We found that different (sub)populations of amyloid plaques, differing in Aβ and lipid composition, coexist in the brain samples studied. The integration of MSI data with ML-based feature extraction further revealed that plaque-associated gangliosides GM2 and GM1, as well as Aβ1-38, but not Aβ1-42, are relevant differentiators between the investigated pathologies. The pinpointed differences may guide further fundamental research investigating the role of amyloid plaque heterogeneity in AD pathogenesis/progression and may provide molecular clues for further development of emerging immunotherapies to effectively target toxic amyloid assemblies in AD therapy. Our study exemplifies how an integrative analytical strategy facilitates the unraveling of complex biochemical phenomena, advancing our understanding of AD from an analytical perspective and offering potential avenues for the refinement of diagnostic tools.

Accumulation of neutral lipids in dystrophic neurites surrounding amyloid plaques in Alzheimer's disease

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is characterized by the formation β-amyloid (Aβ) deposited neuritic plaques. Recent evidence suggests that abnormal lipid metabolism and accumulation could serve as biomarkers for neurodegenerative diseases, including AD. Tubular endoplasmic reticulum protein, reticulon 3 (RTN3), plays a crucial role in the development of neuritic plaque and lipid metabolism in AD brains. In present study, we sought to investigate a potential association between neutral lipid accumulation and AD pathology. BODIPY 500/510 dye was used to label neutral lipid surrounding Aβ plaques in APPNL-G-F mouse and AD postmortem brains samples. Immunofluorescent images were captured using confocal microscope and co-localization between lipid metabolism proteins and neutral lipids were evaluated. Lipid accumulation in Aβ plaque surrounding dystrophic neurites (DNs) was observed in the cortical region of AD mouse models and human AD brain samples. The neutral lipid staining was not co-localized with IBA1-labeled microglia or GFAP-labeled astrocytes, but it was co-labeled with VAMP2 and neurofilament. We further showed that neutral lipids were accumulated in RTN3 immunoreactive DNs. Both the neutral lipids accumulation and RIDNs formation showed age-dependent patterns in surrounding amyloid plaques. Mechanistic studies revealed that RTN3 likely contributes to the enrichment of neutral lipids near plaques by interacting with heat shock cognate protein 70 (HSC70) and diminishing its function in chaperone-mediated lipophagy. Our study provides immunohistochemical evidence of neutral lipids being enriched in DNs near amyloid plaques. Our findings shed light on RTN3-mediaed lipid accumulation in AD neuropathology and provide fresh insights into the role of RTN3 in neurodegenerative diseases.

Skipping of FCER1G Exon 2 Is Common in Human Brain But Not Associated with the Alzheimer's Disease Genetic Risk Factor rs2070902.

Understanding the mechanisms whereby genetic variants influence the risk of Alzheimer's disease (AD) may provide insights into treatments that could reduce AD risk. Here, we sought to test the hypothesis that a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) associated with AD risk, rs2070902, influences splicing of FCER1G exon 2. AD and non-AD brain samples were analyzed for FCER1G expression by genotyping, immunohistochemistry, immunofluorescence, and qPCR. The protein encoded by FCER1G, FcRγ, is robustly expressed in microglia in both AD and non-AD brain. The FCER1G isoform lacking exon 2 (D2-FCER1G) was readily detectable. Moreover, the proportion of FCER1G expressed as this isoform was increased in brains with high AD neuropathology. However, the proportion of FCER1G expressed as the D2-FCER1G isoform was not associated with rs2070902 genotype. In summary, the proportion of FCER1G expressed as the D2-FCER1G isoform is increased with AD neuropathology but is not associated with rs2070902.

Mechanistic multiscale modelling of energy metabolism in human astrocytes reveals the impact of morphology changes in Alzheimer's Disease.

Astrocytes with their specialised morphology are essential for brain homeostasis as metabolic mediators between blood vessels and neurons. In neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's disease (AD), astrocytes adopt reactive profiles with molecular and morphological changes that could lead to the impairment of their metabolic support and impact disease progression. However, the underlying mechanisms of how the metabolic function of human astrocytes is impaired by their morphological changes in AD are still elusive. To address this challenge, we developed and applied a metabolic multiscale modelling approach integrating the dynamics of metabolic energy pathways and physiological astrocyte morphologies acquired in human AD and age-matched control brain samples. The results demonstrate that the complex cell shape and intracellular organisation of energetic pathways determine the metabolic profile and support capacity of astrocytes in health and AD conditions. Thus, our mechanistic approach indicates the importance of spatial orchestration in metabolism and allows for the identification of protective mechanisms against disease-associated metabolic impairments.

Dissecting Detergent-Insoluble Proteome in Alzheimer's Disease by TMTc-Corrected Quantitative Mass Spectrometry

Protein aggregation of amyloid-β peptides and tau are pathological hallmarks of Alzheimer's disease (AD), which are often resistant to detergent extraction and thus enriched in the insoluble proteome. However, additional proteins that coaccumulate in the detergent-insoluble AD brain proteome remain understudied. Here, we comprehensively characterized key proteins and pathways in the detergent-insoluble proteome from human AD brain samples using differential extraction, tandem mass tag (TMT) labeling, and two-dimensional LC–tandem mass spectrometry. To improve quantification accuracy of the TMT method, we developed a complement TMT–based strategy to correct for ratio compression. Through the meta-analysis of two independent detergent-insoluble AD proteome datasets (8914 and 8917 proteins), we identified 190 differentially expressed proteins in AD compared with control brains, highlighting the pathways of amyloid cascade, RNA splicing, endocytosis/exocytosis, protein degradation, and synaptic activity. To differentiate the truly detergent-insoluble proteins from copurified background during protein extraction, we analyzed the fold of enrichment for each protein by comparing the detergent-insoluble proteome with the whole proteome from the same AD samples. Among the 190 differentially expressed proteins, 84 (51%) proteins of the upregulated proteins (n = 165) were enriched in the insoluble proteome, whereas all downregulated proteins (n = 25) were not enriched, indicating that they were copurified components. The vast majority of these enriched 84 proteins harbor low-complexity regions in their sequences, including amyloid-β, Tau, TARDBP/TAR DNA-binding protein 43, SNRNP70/U1-70K, MDK, PTN, NTN1, NTN3, and SMOC1. Moreover, many of the enriched proteins in AD were validated in the detergent-insoluble proteome by five steps of differential extraction, proteomic analysis, or immunoblotting. Our study reveals a resource list of proteins and pathways that are exclusively present in the detergent-insoluble proteome, providing novel molecular insights to the formation of protein pathology in AD.

HdWGCNA identifies co-expression networks in high-dimensional transcriptomics data

Biological systems are immensely complex, organized into a multi-scale hierarchy of functional units based on tightly regulated interactions between distinct molecules, cells, organs, and organisms. While experimental methods enable transcriptome-wide measurements across millions of cells, popular bioinformatic tools do not support systems-level analysis. Here we present hdWGCNA, a comprehensive framework for analyzing co-expression networks in high-dimensional transcriptomics data such as single-cell and spatial RNA sequencing (RNA-seq). hdWGCNA provides functions for network inference, gene module identification, gene enrichment analysis, statistical tests, and data visualization. Beyond conventional single-cell RNA-seq, hdWGCNA is capable of performing isoform-level network analysis using long-read single-cell data. We showcase hdWGCNA using data from autism spectrum disorder and Alzheimer's disease brain samples, identifying disease-relevant co-expression network modules. hdWGCNA is directly compatible with Seurat, a widely used R package for single-cell and spatial transcriptomics analysis, and we demonstrate the scalability of hdWGCNA by analyzing a dataset containing nearly 1 million cells.

Complement receptor 1 is expressed on brain cells and in the human brain.

Genome wide association studies (GWAS) have highlighted the importance of the complement cascade in pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Complement receptor 1 (CR1; CD35) is among the top GWAS hits. The long variant of CR1 is associated with increased risk for AD; however, roles of CR1 in brain health and disease are poorly understood. A critical confounder is that brain expression of CR1 is controversial; failure to demonstrate brain expression has provoked the suggestion that peripherally expressed CR1 influences AD risk. We took a multi-pronged approach to establish whether CR1 is expressed in brain. Expression of CR1 at the protein and mRNA level was assessed in human microglial lines, induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-derived microglia from two sources and brain tissue from AD and control donors. CR1 protein was detected in microglial lines and iPSC-derived microglia expressing different CR1 variants when immunostained with a validated panel of CR1-specific antibodies; cell extracts were positive for CR1 protein and mRNA. CR1 protein was detected in control and AD brains, co-localizing with astrocytes and microglia, and expression was significantly increased in AD compared to controls. CR1 mRNA expression was detected in all AD and control brain samples tested; expression was significantly increased in AD. The data unequivocally demonstrate that the CR1 transcript and protein are expressed in human microglia ex vivo and on microglia and astrocytes in situ in the human brain; the findings support the hypothesis that CR1 variants affect AD risk by directly impacting glial functions.

Intermediate-length CGG repeat expansion in NOTCH2NLC is associated with pathologically confirmed Alzheimer's disease

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common cause of dementia in the elderly. Pathologically, it is characterized by β-amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles. There are several genes have been found to relate to AD, including the human-specific Notch2 N terminal-like C (NOTCH2NLC) gene. The CGG repeat expansion in NOTCH2NLC has been reported in clinically diagnosed AD patients. However, it has not been reported in pathologically confirmed AD cases. In this study, we detected the NOTCH2NLC CGG repeat expansion in pathologically confirmed AD brain samples by repeat-primed PCR (RP-PCR) and fluorescence amplicon length analysis PCR (AL-PCR). As a result, the intermediate-length CGG repeat expansion in NOTCH2NLC was validated in one out of 39 pathologically confirmed AD cases. Pathologically, p62 positive intranuclear inclusions were observed in wide brain areas, and most inclusions appeared to be presented in the glial cells. In summary, our study found that the intermediate-length CGG repeat expansion in NOTCH2NLC was associated with pathologically confirmed AD. The p62-positive intranuclear inclusions could co-exist with AD neuropathologic changes. These data suggest that the association of NOTCH2NLC CGG repeat expansion with AD may be stronger than in previous studies.

Alzheimer's disease associated AKAP9 I2558M mutation alters posttranslational modification and interactome of tau and cellular functions in CRISPR-edited human neuronal cells.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a pervasive neurodegeneration disease with high heritability. In this study, we employed CRISPR‐Cas9‐engineered technology to investigate the effects of a rare mutation (rs144662445) in the A kinase anchoring protein 9 (AKAP9) gene, which is associated with AD in African Americans (AA), on tau pathology and the tau interactome in SH‐SY5Y P301L neuron‐like cells. The mutation significantly increased the level of phosphorylated tau, specifically at the site Ser396/Ser404. Moreover, analyses of the tau interactome measured by affinity purification‐mass spectrometry revealed that differentially expressed tau‐interacting proteins in AKAP9 mutant cells were associated with RNA translation, RNA localization and oxidative activity, recapitulating the tau interactome signature previously reported with human AD brain samples. Importantly, these results were further validated by functional studies showing a significant reduction in protein synthesis activity and excessive oxidative stress in AKAP9 mutant compared with wild type cells in a tau‐dependent manner, which are mirrored with pathological phenotype frequently seen in AD. Our results demonstrated specific effects of rs14462445 on mis‐processing of tau and suggest a potential role of AKAP9 in AD pathogenesis.

APP accumulates with presynaptic proteins around amyloid plaques: A role for presynaptic mechanisms in Alzheimer's disease?

In Alzheimer's disease (AD), the distribution of the amyloid precursor protein (APP) and its fragments other than amyloid beta, has not been fully characterized. Here, we investigate the distribution of APP and its fragments in human AD brain samples and in mouse models of AD in reference to its proteases, synaptic proteins, and histopathological features characteristic of the AD brain, by combining an extensive set of histological and analytical tools. We report that the prominent somatic distribution of APP observed in control patients remarkably vanishes in human AD patients to the benefit of dense accumulations of extra-somatic APP, which surround dense-core amyloid plaques enriched in APP-Nter. These features are accentuated in patients with familial forms of the disease. Importantly, APP accumulations are enriched in phosphorylated tau and presynaptic proteins whereas they are depleted of post-synaptic proteins suggesting that the extra-somatic accumulations of APP are of presynaptic origin. Ultrastructural analyses unveil that APP concentrates in autophagosomes and in multivesicular bodies together with presynaptic vesicle proteins. Altogether, alteration of APP distribution and its accumulation together with presynaptic proteins around dense-core amyloid plaques is a key histopathological feature in AD, lending support to the notion that presynaptic failure is a strong physiopathological component of AD.

Targeted bisulfite sequencing analysis of candidate genes associated with Alzheimer's disease.

The histopathological changes in Alzheimer's disease (AD), including extensive deposits of amyloid β plaques and neurofibrillary tangles occur many years before the onset of clinical symptoms and epigenetic processes such as DNA methylation may contribute to this delay. Recent epigenome-wide association studies (EWAS) have identified a number of loci in specific genes that show robust and reproducible alterations in DNA methylation changes in AD brain samples. However, the technologies used for these studies only assess a limited number of methylation sites in each gene and further analysis of methylation changes across the entire gene are required to determine the exact extent and pattern of methylation changes in disease. In this study we have performed targeted bisulfite sequencing and RNA sequencing in the Brains for Dementia Research (BDR) tissue sample resource, which is a highly characterised cohort containing tissue with a high degree of standardised pathological, clinical and administrative data available to allow comparative studies. Prefrontal cortex brain samples from 96 individuals were selected from the BDR cohort and grouped by Braak stage (Control 0-II; mild cognitive impairment III-IV; AD V-VI). DNA and RNA was simultaneously extracted before next generation RNA-seq was performed on all 96 samples to analyse the AD transcriptome and data extracted for 30 genomic regions of interest identified from previous EWAS. Concurrently for the DNA, Agilent Sure Select target baits captured the same 30 target genomic regions that were bisulfite sequenced for a subset of 60 samples, allowing analysis of differentially methylated positions (DMPs). The exact location of DMPs within the targeted genomic regions were identified and compared between each group. Similarly, differential expression of mRNA transcripts encoded by these genes were also identified and related to methylation levels. This study builds on previous work that identified differential methylation in several genomic regions that were associated with Braak stage. By identifying the exact positions that are subjected to differential methylation and the potential impact these changes have on gene expression this work provides further evidence that dysregulation of methylation is associated with pathological changes in AD prefrontal cortex.

Expression of the microglial INPP5D isoforms as a function of Alzheimer's disease status and genetics.

Genome wide association studies have identified single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) within INPP5D (Phosphatidylinositol-3,4,5-trisphosphate 5-phosphatase 1), the gene encoding SHIP1, that are strongly associated with Alzheimer's Disease (AD) risk. INPP5D is expressed in the brain, mostly in microglia and can include up to 27 exons. In the brain, INPP5D encodes several isoforms. The full-length 27 exon isoform encodes an amino-terminal SH2 domain followed by the phosphatase domain. Truncated isoforms lacking the SH2 domain begin from internal transcription start sites. Whether these isoforms are relevant to the SNP's actions in AD is unclear. RNA from AD and non-AD anterior cingulate human brain samples was analyzed via quantitative polymerase chain reaction for the copy number of each isoform relative to INPP5D standard curves. The AD-associated SNPs were identified using TaqMan (ABI). Isoform expression results were analyzed as a function of microglial gene expression (ITGAM and AIF1), total INPP5D expression, AD status, and SNP status. We also evaluated INPP5D expression as a function of SNPs by using data from GTEX. Single cell RNAseq was performed on APP/PS1 mice to understand the relationship between INPP5D expression and microglial activation. Lastly, we performed SHIP1 immunocytochemistry on AD and non-AD human brain slices. Expression of each INPP5D isoform was strongly correlated with microglial gene expression and showed an increase with AD neuropathology. None of the isoforms showed a significant association with AD-associated SNPs. In contrast, GTEX analysis suggested a modest but significant association between rs35349669 and INPP5D expression; the minor T allele, which is associated with increased AD risk, was associated with decreased INPP5D expression in spleen and blood. INPP5D was expressed at equivalent levels in microglia, regardless of homeostatic versus disease-associated microglial status. Immunocytochemistry supported that SHIP1 expression was restricted to microglia in the human brain. INPP5D is expressed as multiple isoforms, and expression of these isoforms is increased with AD neuropathology. INPP5D expression does not change in disease-associated microglia. The mechanisms whereby AD genetics influence INPP5D expression is not clear, but the rs35349669 allele that increases AD risk may be associated with a decrease in INPP5D expression.

P38 MAPK-mediated loss of nuclear RNase III enzyme Drosha underlies amyloid beta-induced neuronal stress in Alzheimer's disease.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small noncoding RNAs ubiquitously expressed in the brain and regulate gene expression at the post‐transcriptional level. The nuclear RNase III enzyme Drosha initiates the maturation process of miRNAs in the nucleus. Strong evidence suggests that dysregulation of miRNAs is involved in many neurological disorders including Alzheimer's disease (AD). Dysfunction of miRNA biogenesis components may be involved in the processes of those diseases. However, the role of Drosha in AD remains unknown. By using immunohistochemistry, biochemistry, and subcellular fractionation methods, we show here that the level of Drosha protein was significantly lower in the postmortem brain of human AD patients as well as in the transgenic rat model of AD. Interestingly, Drosha level was specifically reduced in neurons of the cortex and hippocampus but not in the cerebellum in the AD brain samples. In primary cortical neurons, amyloid‐beta (Aβ) oligomers caused a p38 MAPK‐dependent phosphorylation of Drosha, leading to its redistribution from the nucleus to the cytoplasm and a decrease in its level. This loss of Drosha function preceded Aβ‐induced neuronal death. Importantly, inhibition of p38 MAPK activity or overexpression of Drosha protected neurons from Aβ oligomers‐induced apoptosis. Taken together, these results establish a role for p38 MAPK‐Drosha pathway in modulating neuronal viability under Aβ oligomers stress condition and implicate loss of Drosha as a key molecular change in the pathogenesis of AD.

DNA-Based Smart Reagent for Detecting Alzheimer's Associated MicroRNAs.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common neurodegenerative disorder, with significant research efforts devoted to identifying new biomarkers for clinical diagnosis and treatment. MicroRNAs have emerged as likely disease regulators and biomarkers for AD, now implicated as having roles in several biological processes related to progression of the disease. In this work, we use the miRacles assay (microRNA activated conditional looping of engineered switches) for single-step detection of AD-related microRNAs. The technology is based on conformationally responsive DNA nanoswitches that loop upon recognition of a target microRNA and report their on/off status through an electrophoretic readout. Unlike many methods, our approach directly detects native microRNAs without amplification or labeling, eliminating the need for expensive enzymes, reagents, and equipment. For known AD-related microRNA miR-107, we demonstrated sensitivity of ∼8 fM, specificity among four similar microRNAs of the same family, and simultaneous multiplexed detection of those four microRNA targets. Toward clinical use, we screened 56 AD-related microRNAs and found four that showed detectable differences between total RNA extracts derived from human healthy and AD brain samples. In the context of AD, this "smart reagent" could facilitate biomarker discovery, accelerate efforts to understand the role of microRNAs in AD, and have clinical potential as a diagnostic or monitoring tool for validated biomarkers.

At the origin of Aβ with ADAM10

Alzheimer's Disease Intracellular accumulation of insoluble amyloid β peptide (Aβ) oligomers is a major pathogenic event in Alzheimer's disease (AD). Cleavage of amyloid precursor protein (APP) by β- and γ-secretases generates insoluble Aβ peptides. On the contrary, α-secretase cleaves APP to form sAPPα, a soluble, neuroprotective fragment. ADAM10, a major α-secretase, is thought to play a role in AD; however, the mechanisms mediating ADAM10 modulation are unclear. Nakamura et al. now show that an ADAM10 inhibitor called RECK is increased in human AD brain samples. The authors found that RECK is controlled by glycerophosphodiester phosphodiesterase 2, and ablation of this enzyme or RECK elevation in mice promotes insoluble Aβ oligomer formation and accelerates AD pathology. Targeting this pathway might reduce Aβ pathology in AD. Sci. Transl. Med. 13 , eabe6178 (2021).

Complex Photophysical Properties of K114 Make for a Versatile Fluorescent Probe for Amyloid Detection.

Protein aggregation is a hallmark of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and many other neurodegenerative disorders. Small organic fluorophores such as Congo Red preferentially bind to cross-β-sheet-rich deposits and have been used to label amyloid plaques and tau tangles in histological samples. However, distinguishing between different conformations of protein aggregates is not trivial. Using silkworm and spider silks (prototypical amyloids) and transgenic AD mouse (5XFAD) and human AD brain samples, we report how spectral confocal microscopy allowed for improved detection and differentiation of protein aggregates based on the unexpected photophysical behavior of the amyloid-specific dye K114. The pH and excitation power had pronounced effects on the emission spectrum and intensity of amyloid-bound K114 fluorescence. When bound to β-sheet-rich assemblies, the emission spectrum of K114 was governed by the local pH of the binding pockets much more than by the pH of the mounting medium, likely due to ionization of titratable phenols. Unexpectedly, exposure to high excitation power caused a permanent increase in fluorescence intensity and a spectral blue-shift. These light-induced fluorescence changes were dependent in a complex manner on laser power, exposure time, pH, and amyloid type examined. The above-mentioned phenomena were observed in silk fibers and Alzheimer brain sections from mouse and human, indicating that this may be a general characteristic of K114 when bound to tightly aggregated macromolecules. Potential mechanisms are discussed, likely involving photoinduced electron transfer. Our findings illustrate how the complex photophysical behavior of amyloid-bound K114 can be exploited for improved detection and differentiation of protein aggregates.

Human Dental Pulp Stem Cells Display a Potential for Modeling Alzheimer Disease-Related Tau Modifications.

We present here the first description of tau in human dental pulp stem cells (DPSCs) evidenced by RT-PCR data on expression of the gene MAPT and by immunocytochemical detection of epitopes by 12 anti-tau antibodies. The tau specificity of eight of these antibodies was confirmed by their affinity to neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs) in Alzheimer's disease (AD) postmortem brain samples. We therefore used DPSCs and AD brain samples as a test system for determining the probability of the involvement of tau epitopes in the mechanisms converting tau into NFT in AD. Three antibodies to non-phosphorylated and seven antibodies to phosphorylated epitopes bound tau in both DPSCs and AD NFTs, thus suggesting that their function was not influenced by inducers of formation of NFTs in the AD brain. In contrast, AT100, which recognizes a hyperphosphorylated epitope, did not detect it in the cytoplasm of DPSCs but detected it in AD brain NFTs, demonstrating its AD diagnostic potential. This indicated that the phosphorylation/conformational events required for the creation of this epitope do not occur in normal cytoplasm and are a part of the mechanism (s) leading to NFT in AD brain. TG3 bound tau in the cytoplasm and in mitotic chromosomes but did not find it in nuclei. Collectively, these observations characterize DPSCs as a novel tau-harboring neuronal lineage long-term propagable in vitro cellular system for the normal conformational state of tau sites, detectable by antibodies, with their state in AD NFTs revealing those involved in the pathological processes converting tau into NFTs in the course of AD. With this information, one can model the interaction of tau with inducers and inhibitors of hyperphosphorylation toward NFT-like aggregates to search for drug candidates. Additionally, the clonogenicity of DPSCs provides the option for generation of cell lineages with CRISPR-mutagenized genes of familial AD modeling.

Dickkopf-related protein-1 inhibition attenuates amyloid-beta pathology associated to Alzheimer's disease

Alzheimer's disease (AD) constitutes the leading cause of dementia worldwide. It is associated to amyloid-β (Aβ) aggregation and tau hyper-phosphorylation, accompanied by a progressive cognitive decline. Evidence suggests that the canonical Wnt pathway is deregulated in AD. Pathway activity is mediated by β-catenin stabilization in the cytosol, and subsequent translocation to the nucleus to regulate the expression of several genes implicated in brain homeostasis and functioning. It was recently proposed that Dickkopf-related protein-1 (DKK1), an endogenous antagonist of the pathway, might be implicated in AD pathogenesis. Here, we hypothesized that canonical Wnt pathway deactivation associated to DKK1 induction contributes to late-onset AD pathogenesis, and thus DKK1 neutralization could attenuate AD pathology. For this purpose, human post-mortem AD brain samples were used to assess pathway activity, and aged APPswe/PS1 mice were used to investigate DKK1 in late-onset AD-like pathology and therapy. Our findings indicate that β-catenin levels progressively decrease in the brain of AD patients, correlating with the duration of symptoms. Next, we found that Aβ pathology in APPswe/PS1 mediates DKK1 induction in the brain. Pharmacological neutralization of DKK1's biological activity in APPswe/PS1 mice restores pathway activity by stabilizing β-catenin, attenuates Aβ pathology, and ameliorates the memory of mice. Attenuation of AD-like pathology upon DKK1 inhibition is accompanied by a reduced protein expression of beta-site amyloid precursor protein (APP) cleaving enzyme-1 (BACE1). Moreover, DKK1 inhibition enhances vascular density, promotes blood-brain barrier (BBB) integrity by increasing claudin 5, glucose transporter-1 (GLUT1), and ATP-binding cassette sub-family B member-1 (ABCB1) protein expression, as well as ameliorates synaptic plasticity by increasing brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), and postsynaptic density protein-95 (PSD-95) protein expression. DKK1 conditional induction reduces claudin 5, abcb1, and psd-95 mRNA expression, validating its inhibition effects. Our results indicate that neutralization of DKK1's biological activity attenuates AD-like pathology by restoring canonical Wnt pathway activity.

Invited Review - A 5-year update on epigenome-wide association studies of DNA modifications in Alzheimer's disease: progress, practicalities and promise.

In late 2014, the first epigenome-wide association studies of DNA modifications in Alzheimer's disease brain samples were published. Over the last 5years, further studies have been reported in the field and have highlighted consistent and robust alterations in DNA modifications in AD cortex. However, there are some caveats associated with the majority of studies undertaken to date; for example, they are predominantly restricted to profiling a limited number of loci, are principally focused on DNA methylation, are performed on bulk tissue at the end stage of disease and are restricted to nominating associations rather than demonstrating causal relationships. Consequently, the downstream interpretation of these studies is limited. Owing to recent advances in state-of-the-art cell profiling techniques, long-read genomic technologies and genetic engineering methodologies, identifying cell-type-specific causal epigenetic changes is becoming feasible. This review seeks to provide an overview of the last 5years of epigenomic studies of DNA modifications in Alzheimer's disease brain samples and propose new avenues for future research.

Microglial CX3CR1 production increases in Alzheimer's disease and is regulated by noradrenaline.

The loss of noradrenergic neurons and subsequent reduction of brain noradrenaline (NA) levels are associated with the progression of Alzheimer's disease (AD). This seems to be due mainly to the ability of NA to reduce the activation of microglial cells. We previously observed that NA induces the production of the chemokine Fractalkine/CX3CL1 in neurons. The activation of microglial CX3CR1, sole receptor for CX3CL1, reduces the activation of microglia, which is known to largely contribute to the neuronal damage characteristic of AD. Therefore, alterations of CX3CR1 production in microglia could translate into the enhancement or inhibition of CX3CL1 anti-inflammatory effects. In order to determine if microglial CX3CR1 production is altered in AD and if NA can control it, CX3CR1 expression and synthesis were analyzed in 5xFAD mice and human AD brain samples. In addition, the effects of NA and its reuptake inhibitor reboxetine were analyzed in microglial cultures and mice respectively. Our results indicate that in AD CX3CR1 production is increased in the brain cortex and that reboxetine administration further increases it and enhances microglial reactivity toward amyloid beta plaques. However, direct administration of NA to primary rat microglia or human HMC3 cells inhibits CX3CR1 production, suggesting that microglia responses to NA may be altered in the absence of CX3CL1-producing neurons or other nonmicroglial external factors.