ABSTRACT
To assess the consequences of locus ceruleus (LC) degeneration and subsequent noradrenaline (NA) deficiency in early Alzheimer's disease (AD), mice overexpressing mutant amyloid precursor protein and presenilin-1 (APP/PS1) were crossed with Ear2(-/-) mice that have a severe loss of LC neurons projecting to the hippocampus and neocortex. Testing spatial memory and hippocampal long-term potentiation revealed an impairment in APP/PS1 Ear2(-/-) mice, whereas APP/PS1 or Ear2(-/-) mice showed only minor changes. These deficits were associated with distinct synaptic changes including reduced expression of the NMDA 2A subunit and increased levels of NMDA receptor 2B in APP/PS1 Ear2(-/-) mice. Acute pharmacological replacement of NA by L-threo-DOPS partially restored phosphorylation of ß-CaMKII and spatial memory performance in APP/PS1 Ear2(-/-) mice. These changes were not accompanied by altered APP processing or amyloid ß peptide (Aß) deposition. Thus, early LC degeneration and subsequent NA reduction may contribute to cognitive deficits via CaMKII and NMDA receptor dysfunction independent of Aß and suggests that NA supplementation could be beneficial in treating AD.
Subject(s)
Eosinophil-Derived Neurotoxin/metabolism , Learning/physiology , Maze Learning/physiology , Memory Disorders/metabolism , Memory/physiology , Amyloid beta-Protein Precursor/genetics , Amyloid beta-Protein Precursor/metabolism , Animals , Eosinophil-Derived Neurotoxin/genetics , Locus Coeruleus/metabolism , Locus Coeruleus/pathology , Memory Disorders/genetics , Mice , Mice, Knockout , Mice, Transgenic , Nerve Degeneration/genetics , Nerve Degeneration/metabolism , Nerve Degeneration/pathology , Neurons/metabolism , Norepinephrine/metabolism , Presenilin-1/genetics , Presenilin-1/metabolism , Receptors, N-Methyl-D-Aspartate/genetics , Receptors, N-Methyl-D-Aspartate/metabolismABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Elevated levels of acute phase proteins (APP) are often found in patients with cardiovascular diseases. In a previous study, we demonstrated the importance of the IL-6-gp130 axis -as a key regulator of inflammatory acute phase signaling in hepatocytes-for the development of atherosclerosis. BACKGROUND/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Gp130-dependent gene expression was analyzed in a previously established hepatocyte-specific gp130 knockout mouse model. We performed whole transcriptome analysis in isolated hepatocytes to measure tissue specific responses after proinflammatory stimulus with IL-6 across different time points. Our analyses revealed an unexpected small gene cluster that requires IL-6 stimulus for early activation. Several of the genes in this cluster are involved in different cell defense mechanisms. Thus, stressors that trigger both general stress and inflammatory responses lead to activation of a stereotypic innate cellular defense response. Furthermore, we identified a potential biomarker Lipocalin (LCN) 2 for the gp130 dependent early inflammatory response. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Our findings suggest a complex network of tightly linked genes involved in the early activation of different parts of the innate immune response including acute phase proteins, complement and coagulation cascade.
