Target engagement and immunogenicity of an active immunotherapeutic targeting pathological α-synuclein: a phase 1 placebo-controlled trial.

Investigational therapeutics that target toxic species of α-synuclein (αSyn) aim to slow down or halt disease progression in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD). Here this 44-week, randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind, single-center phase 1 study investigated safety, tolerability and immunogenicity of UB-312, an active immunotherapeutic targeting pathological αSyn, in patients with PD. The primary outcome measures were adverse event frequency and change in anti-αSyn antibody titers in blood and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). Exploratory outcomes were changes in clinical scales and biomarker-based target engagement as measured by seed amplification assays. Twenty patients were randomized 7:3 (UB-312:placebo) into 300/100/100 µg or 300/300/300 µg (weeks 1, 5 and 13) intramuscular prime-boost dose groups. Safety was similar across groups; adverse events were mostly mild and transient. Two patients experienced three serious adverse events in total, one possibly treatment related; all resolved without sequalae. Anti-αSyn antibodies in serum from 12/13 and CSF from 5/13 patients who received three UB-312 doses confirmed immunogenicity. Mean serum titers (in log-dilution factor) increased from baseline by 1.398 and 1.354, and peaked at week 29 at 2.520 and 2.133, for 300/100/100 µg and 300/300/300 µg, respectively. CSF titers were 0 at baseline and were 0.182 and 0.032 at week 21, respectively. Exploratory analyses showed no statistical differences in clinical scales but a significant reduction of αSyn seeds in CSF of a subset of UB-312-treated patients. These data support further UB-312 development. ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT04075318 .

VXX-401, a novel anti-PCSK9 vaccine, reduces LDL-C in cynomolgus monkeys.

Atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) remains the leading cause of disease burden in the world and is highly correlated with chronic elevations of LDL-C. LDL-C-lowering drugs, such as statins or monoclonal antibodies against proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 (PCSK9), are known to reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases; however, statins are associated with limited efficacy and poor adherence to treatment, whereas PCSK9 inhibitors are only prescribed to a "high-risk" patient population or those who have failed other therapies. Based on the proven efficacy and safety profile of existing monoclonal antibodies, we have developed a peptide-based vaccine against PCSK9, VXX-401, as an alternative option to treat hypercholesterolemia and prevent ASCVD. VXX-401 is designed to trigger a safe humoral immune response against PCSK9, resulting in the production of endogenous antibodies and a subsequent 30-40% reduction in blood LDL-C. In this article, VXX-401 demonstrates robust immunogenicity and sustained serum LDL-C-lowering effects in nonhuman primates. In addition, antibodies induced by VXX-401 bind to human PCSK9 with high affinity and block the inhibitory effect of PCSK9 on LDL-C uptake in a hepatic cell model. A repeat-dose toxicity study conducted in nonhuman primates under good laboratory practices toxicity indicated a suitable safety and tolerability profile, with injection site reactions being the main findings. As a promising safe and effective LDL-C-lowering therapy, VXX-401 may represent a broadly accessible and convenient option to treat hypercholesterolemia and prevent ASCVD.

Clearance of interstitial fluid (ISF) and CSF (CLIC) group-part of Vascular Professional Interest Area (PIA), updates in 2022-2023. Cerebrovascular disease and the failure of elimination of Amyloid-ß from the brain and retina with age and Alzheimer's disease: Opportunities for therapy.

This editorial summarizes advances from the Clearance of Interstitial Fluid and Cerebrospinal Fluid (CLIC) group, within the Vascular Professional Interest Area (PIA) of the Alzheimer's Association International Society to Advance Alzheimer's Research and Treatment (ISTAART). The overarching objectives of the CLIC group are to: (1) understand the age-related physiology changes that underlie impaired clearance of interstitial fluid (ISF) and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) (CLIC); (2) understand the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying intramural periarterial drainage (IPAD) in the brain; (3) establish novel diagnostic tests for Alzheimer's disease (AD), cerebral amyloid angiopathy (CAA), retinal amyloid vasculopathy, amyloid-related imaging abnormalities (ARIA) of spontaneous and iatrogenic CAA-related inflammation (CAA-ri), and vasomotion; and (4) establish novel therapies that facilitate IPAD to eliminate amyloid ß (Aß) from the aging brain and retina, to prevent or reduce AD and CAA pathology and ARIA side events associated with AD immunotherapy.

Safety, tolerability, immunogenicity, and efficacy of UB-311 in participants with mild Alzheimer's disease: a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, phase 2a study.

BACKGROUND: Anti-amyloid vaccines may offer a convenient, affordable, and accessible means of preventing and treating Alzheimer's disease. UB-311 is an anti-amyloid-ß active immunotherapeutic vaccine shown to be well-tolerated and to have a durable antibody response in a phase 1 trial. This phase 2a study assessed the safety, immunogenicity, and preliminary efficacy of UB-311 in participants with mild Alzheimer's disease. METHODS: A 78-week, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group, multicentre, phase 2a study was conducted in Taiwan. Participants were randomised in a 1:1:1 ratio to receive seven intramuscular injections of UB-311 (Q3M arm), or five doses of U311 with two doses of placebo (Q6M arm), or seven doses of placebo (placebo arm). The primary endpoints were safety, tolerability, and immunogenicity of UB-311. Safety was assessed in all participants who received at least one dose of investigational product. This study was registered at ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT02551809). FINDINGS: Between 7 December 2015 and 28 August 2018, 43 participants were randomised. UB-311 was safe, well-tolerated, and generated a robust immune response. The three treatment-emergent adverse events (TEAEs) with the highest incidence were injection-site pain (14 TEAEs in seven [16%] participants), amyloid-related imaging abnormality with microhaemorrhages and haemosiderin deposits (12 TEAEs in six [14%] participants), and diarrhoea (five TEAEs in five [12%] participants). A 97% antibody response rate was observed and maintained at 93% by the end of the study across both UB-311 arms. INTERPRETATION: These results support the continued development of UB-311. FUNDING: Vaxxinity, Inc. (Formerly United Neuroscience Ltd.).

RBD-Protein/Peptide Vaccine UB-612 Elicits Mucosal and Fc-Mediated Antibody Responses against SARS-CoV-2 in Cynomolgus Macaques.

Antibodies provide critical protective immunity against COVID-19, and the Fc-mediated effector functions and mucosal antibodies also contribute to the protection. To expand the characterization of humoral immunity stimulated by subunit protein-peptide COVID-19 vaccine UB-612, preclinical studies in non-human primates were undertaken to investigate mucosal secretion and the effector functionality of vaccine-induced antibodies in antibody-dependent monocyte phagocytosis (ADMP) and antibody-dependent NK cell activation (ADNKA) assays. In cynomolgus macaques, UB-612 induced potent serum-neutralizing, RBD-specific IgG binding, ACE2 binding-inhibition antibodies, and antibodies with Fc-mediated effector functions in ADMP and ADNKA assays. Additionally, immunized animals developed mucosal antibodies in bronchoalveolar lavage fluids (BAL). The level of mucosal or serum ADMP and ADNKA antibodies was found to be UB-612 dose-dependent. Our results highlight that the novel subunit UB-612 vaccine is a potent B-cell immunogen inducing polyfunctional antibody responses contributing to anti-viral immunity and vaccine efficacy.

A Randomized First-in-Human Study With UB-312, a UBITh® α-Synuclein Peptide Vaccine.

BACKGROUND: α-Synuclein (αSyn) is believed to play a central role in Parkinson's disease (PD) neuropathology and is considered a target for disease modification. UB-312 is a synthetic αSyn peptide conjugated to a T helper peptide and is expected to induce antibodies specifically against oligomeric and fibrillar αSyn, making UB-312 a potential immunotherapeutic for synucleopathies. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the safety, tolerability, and immunogenicity of UB-312 vaccination in healthy participants and to determine a safe and immunologically optimal dose for the first-in-patient study. METHODS: Fifty eligible healthy participants were enrolled in a 44-week, randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind study. Participants in seven cohorts were randomized to three intramuscular UB-312 or placebo injections at weeks 1, 5, and 13 (doses ranging between 40 and 2000 µg). Safety and tolerability were assessed by adverse events, clinical laboratory, vital signs, electrocardiograms, and neurological and physical examinations. Immunogenicity was assessed by measuring serum and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) anti-αSyn antibody concentrations. RESULTS: Twenty-three participants received all three vaccinations of UB-312. Most adverse events were mild, transient, and self-resolving. Common treatment-emergent adverse events included headache, nasopharyngitis, vaccination-site pain, lumbar puncture-site pain, and fatigue. UB-312 induced dose- and time-dependent antibody production. Antibodies were detectable in serum and CSF of all participants receiving the 300/300/300 µg UB-312 dose regimen. The average CSF/serum ratio was 0.2%. CONCLUSIONS: UB-312 was generally safe, well tolerated, and induced anti-αSyn antibodies in serum and CSF of healthy participants. The 100 and 300 µg doses are selected for further evaluation in participants with PD. © 2022 The Authors. Movement Disorders published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society.

Immunisation with UB-312 in the Thy1SNCA mouse prevents motor performance deficits and oligomeric α-synuclein accumulation in the brain and gut.

Alpha synuclein has a key role in the pathogenesis of Parkinson's disease (PD), Dementia with Lewy Bodies (LBD) and Multiple System Atrophy (MSA). Immunotherapies aiming at neutralising toxic αSyn species are being investigated in the clinic as potential disease modifying therapies for PD and other synucleinopathies. In this study, the effects of active immunisation against αSyn with the UB-312 vaccine were investigated in the Thy1SNCA/15 mouse model of PD. Young transgenic and wild-type mice received an immunisation regimen over a period of 6 weeks, then observed for an additional 9 weeks. Behavioural assessment was conducted before immunisation and at 15 weeks after the first dose. UB-312 immunisation prevented the development of motor impairment in the wire test and challenging beam test, which was associated with reduced levels of αSyn oligomers in the cerebral cortex, hippocampus and striatum of Thy1SNCA/15 mice. UB-312 immunotherapy resulted in a significant reduction of theαSyn load in the colon, accompanied by a reduction in enteric glial cell reactivity in the colonic ganglia. Our results demonstrate that immunisation with UB-312 prevents functional deficits and both central and peripheral pathology in Thy1SNCA/15 mice.

Amyloid-ß and α-Synuclein Immunotherapy: From Experimental Studies to Clinical Trials.

Alzheimer's disease and Lewy body diseases are the most common causes of neurodegeneration and dementia. Amyloid-beta (Aß) and alpha-synuclein (αSyn) are two key proteins involved in the pathogenesis of these neurodegenerative diseases. Immunotherapy aims to reduce the harmful effects of protein accumulation by neutralising toxic species and facilitating their removal. The results of the first immunisation trial against Aß led to a small percentage of meningoencephalitis cases which revolutionised vaccine design, causing a shift in the field of immunotherapy from active to passive immunisation. While the vast majority of immunotherapies have been developed for Aß and tested in Alzheimer's disease, the field has progressed to targeting other proteins including αSyn. Despite showing some remarkable results in animal models, immunotherapies have largely failed final stages of clinical trials to date, with the exception of Aducanumab recently licenced in the US by the FDA. Neuropathological findings translate quite effectively from animal models to human trials, however, cognitive and functional outcome measures do not. The apparent lack of translation of experimental studies to clinical trials suggests that we are not obtaining a full representation of the effects of immunotherapies from animal studies. Here we provide a background understanding to the key concepts and challenges involved in therapeutic design. This review further provides a comprehensive comparison between experimental and clinical studies in Aß and αSyn immunotherapy and aims to determine the possible reasons for the disconnection in their outcomes.

Variant-selective stereopure oligonucleotides protect against pathologies associated with C9orf72-repeat expansion in preclinical models.

A large G4C2-repeat expansion in C9orf72 is the most common genetic cause of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and frontotemporal dementia (FTD). Neuronal degeneration associated with this expansion arises from a loss of C9orf72 protein, the accumulation of RNA foci, the expression of dipeptide repeat (DPR) proteins, or all these factors. We report the discovery of a new targeting sequence that is common to all C9orf72 transcripts but enables preferential knockdown of repeat-containing transcripts in multiple cellular models and C9BAC transgenic mice. We optimize stereopure oligonucleotides that act through this site, and we demonstrate that their preferential activity depends on both backbone stereochemistry and asymmetric wing design. In mice, stereopure oligonucleotides produce durable depletion of pathogenic signatures without disrupting protein expression. These oligonucleotides selectively protect motor neurons harboring C9orf72-expansion mutation from glutamate-induced toxicity. We hypothesize that targeting C9orf72 with stereopure oligonucleotides may be a viable therapeutic approach for the treatment of C9orf72-associated neurodegenerative disorders.

Novel antibodies detect additional α-synuclein pathology in synucleinopathies: potential development for immunotherapy.

BACKGROUND: Alpha-synuclein (α-Syn) aggregation is the primary characteristic of synucleinopathies including Parkinson's disease (PD), dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) and multiple system atrophy (MSA). Immunotherapy targeting α-Syn has shown promising results in animal models of the disease. This study investigates the target specificity of three different active vaccines for pathological α-Syn aggregates found in human brain tissue from synucleinopathies. METHODS: Guinea pigs were immunised with 3 vaccines developed by United Neuroscience, and IgG fractions purified from the resulting immune sera (IGG-1, IGG-2 or IGG-3) were used to perform immunohistochemical staining of human cases of PD, DLB and MSA. The resulting immunoreactivity was compared to a commercially available α-Syn antibody from Novacastra (NOV) commonly used for diagnostic purposes. Images were captured from the substantia nigra (SN), temporal lobe, internal capsule, insular cortex and putamen and quantified for the percentage area with α-Syn immunoreactivity. Lewy bodies (LB) and Lewy neurites (LN) were further analysed in PD and DLB cases. RESULTS: Vaccine-generated antibodies detected more α-Syn pathology compared to NOV. The levels of α-Syn immunoreactivity varied between brain region and disease type with IGG-3 recognising the highest levels of α-Syn in most cases and in all brain regions that are affected early in disease progression. IGG-3 had a high recognition for glial inclusions found in MSA which are known to have a more compact conformation. Slot blot analysis confirmed the specificity of IGG-3 for native oligomers and fibrillar α-Syn. Higher levels of α-Syn were recognised by IGG-2 in cortical regions, and by IGG-3 in SN of PD and DLB cases. This was due to increased immunolabelling of LNs in these brain regions suggesting that IGG-2 and IGG-3 recognised additional α-Syn pathology compared to IGG-1 and NOV. Whether the unique binding properties of the antibodies produced in guinea pigs will translate in the clinic remains to be addressed, which is the main limitation of this study. CONCLUSIONS: These vaccines induce antibodies that bind α-Syn oligomers and aggregates in the human brain and specifically support the choice of the vaccine generating IGG-3 (i.e. UB-312) as a candidate for clinical trials for synucleinopathies.

Discovery of a Brain-Penetrant ATP-Competitive Inhibitor of the Mechanistic Target of Rapamycin (mTOR) for CNS Disorders.

Recent clinical evaluation of everolimus for seizure reduction in patients with tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC), a disease with overactivated mechanistic target of rapamycin (mTOR) signaling, has demonstrated the therapeutic value of mTOR inhibitors for central nervous system (CNS) indications. Given that everolimus is an incomplete inhibitor of the mTOR function, we sought to develop a new mTOR inhibitor that has improved properties and is suitable for CNS disorders. Starting from an in-house purine-based compound, optimization of the physicochemical properties of a thiazolopyrimidine series led to the discovery of the small molecule 7, a potent and selective brain-penetrant ATP-competitive mTOR inhibitor. In neuronal cell-based models of mTOR hyperactivity, 7 corrected the mTOR pathway activity and the resulting neuronal overgrowth phenotype. The new mTOR inhibitor 7 showed good brain exposure and significantly improved the survival rate of mice with neuronal-specific ablation of the Tsc1 gene. These results demonstrate the potential utility of this tool compound to test therapeutic hypotheses that depend on mTOR hyperactivity in the CNS.

Antisense oligonucleotide therapeutics in neurodegenerative diseases: the case of polyglutamine disorders.

Polyglutamine (polyQ) disorders are a group of nine neurodegenerative diseases that share a common genetic cause, which is an expansion of CAG repeats in the coding region of the causative genes that are otherwise unrelated. The trinucleotide expansion encodes for an expanded polyQ tract in the respective proteins, resulting in toxic gain-of-function and eventually in neurodegeneration. Currently, no disease-modifying therapies are available for this group of disorders. Nevertheless, given their monogenic nature, polyQ disorders are ideal candidates for therapies that target specifically the gene transcripts. Antisense oligonucleotides (ASOs) have been under intense investigation over recent years as gene silencing tools. ASOs are small synthetic single-stranded chains of nucleic acids that target specific RNA transcripts through several mechanisms. ASOs can reduce the levels of mutant proteins by breaking down the targeted transcript, inhibit mRNA translation or alter the maturation of the pre-mRNA via splicing correction. Over the years, chemical optimization of ASO molecules has allowed significant improvement of their pharmacological properties, which has in turn made this class of therapeutics a very promising strategy to treat a variety of neurodegenerative diseases. Indeed, preclinical and clinical strategies have been developed in recent years for some polyQ disorders using ASO therapeutics. The success of ASOs in several animal models, as well as encouraging results in the clinic for Huntington's disease, points towards a promising future regarding the application of ASO-based therapies for polyQ disorders in humans, offering new opportunities to address unmet medical needs for this class of disorders. This review aims to present a brief overview of key chemical modifications, mechanisms of action and routes of administration that have been described for ASO-based therapies. Moreover, it presents a review of the most recent and relevant preclinical and clinical trials that have tested ASO therapeutics in polyQ disorders.

Complement C3-Deficient Mice Fail to Display Age-Related Hippocampal Decline.

The complement system is part of the innate immune response responsible for removing pathogens and cellular debris, in addition to helping to refine CNS neuronal connections via microglia-mediated pruning of inappropriate synapses during brain development. However, less is known about the role of complement during normal aging. Here, we studied the role of the central complement component, C3, in synaptic health and aging. We examined behavior as well as electrophysiological, synaptic, and neuronal changes in the brains of C3-deficient male mice (C3 KO) compared with age-, strain-, and gender-matched C57BL/6J (wild-type, WT) control mice at postnatal day 30, 4 months, and 16 months of age. We found the following: (1) region-specific and age-dependent synapse loss in aged WT mice that was not observed in C3 KO mice; (2) age-dependent neuron loss in hippocampal CA3 (but not in CA1) that followed synapse loss in aged WT mice, neither of which were observed in aged C3 KO mice; and (3) significantly enhanced LTP and cognition and less anxiety in aged C3 KO mice compared with aged WT mice. Importantly, CA3 synaptic puncta were similar between WT and C3 KO mice at P30. Together, our results suggest a novel and prominent role for complement protein C3 in mediating aged-related and region-specific changes in synaptic function and plasticity in the aging brain. Significance statement: The complement cascade, part of the innate immune response to remove pathogens, also plays a role in synaptic refinement during brain development by the removal of weak synapses. We investigated whether complement C3, a central component, affects synapse loss during aging. Wild-type (WT) and C3 knock-out (C3 KO) mice were examined at different ages. The mice were similar at 1 month of age. However, with aging, WT mice lost synapses in specific brain regions, especially in hippocampus, an area important for memory, whereas C3 KO mice were protected. Aged C3 KO mice also performed better on learning and memory tests than aged WT mice. Our results suggest that complement C3, or its downstream signaling, is detrimental to synapses during aging.

Anti-Aß antibodies incapable of reducing cerebral Aß oligomers fail to attenuate spatial reference memory deficits in J20 mice.

Compelling genetic evidence links the amyloid precursor protein (APP) to Alzheimer's disease (AD). A leading hypothesis proposes that a small amphipathic fragment of APP, the amyloid ß-protein (Aß), self-associates to form soluble assemblies loosely referred to as "oligomers" and that these are primary mediators of synaptic dysfunction. As such, Aß, and specifically Aß oligomers, are targets for disease modifying therapies. Currently, the most advanced experimental treatment for AD relies on the use of anti-Aß antibodies. In this study, we tested the ability of the monomer-preferring antibody, m266 and a novel aggregate-preferring antibody, 1C22, to attenuate spatial reference memory impairments in J20 mice. Chronic treatment with m266 resulted in a ~70-fold increase in Aß detected in the bloodstream, and a ~50% increase in water-soluble brain Aß--and in both cases Aß was bound to m266. In contrast, 1C22 increased the levels of free Aß in the bloodstream, and bound to amyloid deposits in J20 brain. However, neither 1C22 nor m266 attenuated the cognitive deficits evident in 12month old J20 mice. Moreover, both antibodies failed to alter the levels of soluble Aß oligomers in J20 brain. These results suggest that Aß oligomers may mediate the behavioral deficits seen in J20 mice and highlight the need for the development of aggregate-preferring antibodies that can reach the brain in sufficient levels to neutralize bioactive Aß oligomers. Aside from the lack of positive effect of m266 and 1C22 on cognition, a substantial number of deaths occurred in m266- and 1C22-immunized J20 mice. These fatalities were specific to anti-Aß antibodies and to the J20 mouse line since treatment of wild type or PDAPP mice with these antibodies did not cause any deaths. These and other recent results indicate that J20 mice are particularly susceptible to targeting of the APP/Aß/tau axis. Notwithstanding the specificity of fatalities for J20 mice, it is worrying that the murine precursor (m266) of a lead experimental therapeutic, Solanezumab, did not engage with putatively pathogenic Aß oligomers.

Altered social behavior and neuronal development in mice lacking the Uba6-Use1 ubiquitin transfer system.

The Uba6 (E1)-Use1 (E2) ubiquitin transfer cascade is a poorly understood alternative arm of the ubiquitin proteasome system (UPS) and is required for mouse embryonic development, independent of the canonical Uba1-E2-E3 pathway. Loss of neuronal Uba6 during embryonic development results in altered patterning of neurons in the hippocampus and the amygdala, decreased dendritic spine density, and numerous behavioral disorders. The levels of the E3 ubiquitin ligase Ube3a (E6-AP) and Shank3, both linked with dendritic spine function, are elevated in the amygdala of Uba6-deficient mice, while levels of the Ube3a substrate Arc are reduced. Uba6 and Use1 promote proteasomal turnover of Ube3a in mouse embryo fibroblasts (MEFs) and catalyze Ube3a ubiquitylation in vitro. These activities occur in parallel with an independent pathway involving Uba1-UbcH7, but in a spatially distinct manner in MEFs. These data reveal an unanticipated role for Uba6 in neuronal development, spine architecture, mouse behavior, and turnover of Ube3a.

MK-7128, a novel CB1 receptor inverse agonist, improves scopolamine-induced learning and memory deficits in mice.

Cannabinoid receptors (CBRs) play an important role in a variety of physiological functions and have been considered drug targets for obesity and psychiatric disorders. In particular, the CB1R is highly expressed in brain regions crucial to learning and memory processes, and several lines of evidence indicate that pharmacological blockade of this receptor could have therapeutic applications in the treatment of cognitive disorders. In this study, we investigated whether MK-7128 (0.1, 0.3, and 1 mg/kg, orally), a novel and selective CB1R inverse agonist, could improve learning and memory deficits induced by scopolamine (1 mg/kg, subcutaneously) in mice. The investigators also assessed CB1R occupancy in the brain to ensure target engagement of MK-7128, and showed that MK-7128 significantly improved both Y-maze spontaneous alternation and object habituation performance in scopolamine-treated mice and inhibits the binding of radioiodinated AM251 in murine cortex and hippocampus. These data indicate that MK-7128 improves cognitive performance in a model of cholinergic hypofunction and suggest that efficacy is achieved at relatively low levels of CB1R occupancy in the brain. Our results extend earlier findings suggesting a role of CB1Rs in the modulation of memory processes and a potential therapeutic application for CB1R inverse agonists in cognitive disorders.

Prefrontal cortex lesions and scopolamine impair attention performance of C57BL/6 mice in a novel 2-choice visual discrimination task.

Sustained attention is defined as the ability or capacity to remain focused on the occurrence of rare events over long periods of time. We describe here the development of a novel, operant-based attention task that can be learned by mice in 8-10 days. Mice were trained on a 2-choice visual discrimination task in an operant chamber, wherein the correct response on any given trial was a lever-press cued by a stimulus light. Upon reaching a criterion of greater than 80% correct responses, all subjects were tested in a mixed-trial attention paradigm combining four different stimulus durations within a single session (0.5, 1, 2, or 10 s). During attention testing, the percentage of correct responses decreased as a function of stimulus duration, indicating a performance decrement which parallels increasing attentional demand within the task. Pretreatment with the muscarinic-receptor antagonist scopolamine yielded a reliable, dose-dependent performance deficit whereas nicotine treatment improved the percentage of correct responses during trials with the greatest attentional demand. Moreover, medial prefrontal cortex lesions impaired attention performance without affecting acquisition or retention of the discrimination rule. These results underscore the utility of this task as a novel means of assessing attentional processes in mice in a relatively high-throughput manner.

Excitotoxic lesions restricted to the dorsal CA1 field of the hippocampus impair spatial memory and extinction learning in C57BL/6 mice.

Recent studies in patients with hippocampal lesions have indicated that the degree of memory impairment is proportional to the extent of damage within the hippocampus. Particularly, patients with damage restricted to the CA1 field demonstrate moderate to severe anterograde amnesia with only slight retrograde amnesia. Comparable results are also seen in other species such as non-human primates and rats; however, the effect of selective damage to CA1 has not yet been characterized in mice. In the present study, we investigated the effects of excitotoxic (NMDA) lesions of dorsal CA1 on several aspects of learning and memory performance in mice. Our data indicate that dorsal CA1 lesioned mice are hyperactive upon exposure to a novel environment, have spatial working memory impairments in the Y-maze spontaneous alternation task, and display deficits in an 8-arm spatial discrimination learning task. Lesioned mice are able to acquire an operant lever-press task but demonstrate extinction learning deficits in this appetitive operant paradigm. Taken together, our results indicate that lesions to dorsal CA1 in mice induce selective learning and memory performance deficits similar to those observed in other species, and extend previous findings indicating that this region of the hippocampus is critically involved in the processing of spatial information and/or the processing of inhibitory responses.

Middle-aged human apoE4 targeted-replacement mice show retention deficits on a wide range of spatial memory tasks.

Apolipoprotein (apo) E4, one of three human apoE (h-apoE) isoforms, has been identified as a major genetic risk factor for Alzheimer's disease and for cognitive deficits associated with aging. However, the biological mechanisms involving apoE in learning and memory processes are unclear. A potential isoform-dependent role of apoE in cognitive processes was studied in human apoE targeted-replacement (TR) mice. These mice express either the human apoE3 or apoE4 gene under the control of endogenous murine apoE regulatory sequences, resulting in physiological expression of h-apoE in both a temporal and spatial pattern similar to humans. Male and female apoE3-TR, apoE4-TR, apoE-knockout and C57BL/6J mice (15-18 months) were tested with spatial memory and avoidance conditioning tasks. Compared to apoE3-TR mice, spatial memory in female apoE4-TR mice was impaired based on their poor performances in; (i) the probe test of the water-maze reference memory task, (ii) the water-maze working memory task and (iii) an active avoidance Y-maze task. Retention performance on a passive avoidance task was also impaired in apoE4-TR mice, but not in other genotypes. These deficits in both spatial and avoidance memory tasks may be related to the anatomical and functional abnormalities previously reported in the hippocampus and the amygdala of apoE4-TR mice. We conclude that the apoE4-TR mice provide an excellent model for understanding the mechanisms underlying apoE4-dependent susceptibility to cognitive decline.