Site-specific phosphorylation of tau inhibits amyloid-ß toxicity in Alzheimer's mice.

Amyloid-ß (Aß) toxicity in Alzheimer's disease (AD) is considered to be mediated by phosphorylated tau protein. In contrast, we found that, at least in early disease, site-specific phosphorylation of tau inhibited Aß toxicity. This specific tau phosphorylation was mediated by the neuronal p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase p38γ and interfered with postsynaptic excitotoxic signaling complexes engaged by Aß. Accordingly, depletion of p38γ exacerbated neuronal circuit aberrations, cognitive deficits, and premature lethality in a mouse model of AD, whereas increasing the activity of p38γ abolished these deficits. Furthermore, mimicking site-specific tau phosphorylation alleviated Aß-induced neuronal death and offered protection from excitotoxicity. Our work provides insights into postsynaptic processes in AD pathogenesis and challenges a purely pathogenic role of tau phosphorylation in neuronal toxicity.

Tau-targeting passive immunization modulates aspects of pathology in tau transgenic mice.

Immunization is increasingly recognized as a suitable therapeutic avenue for the treatment of neurological diseases such as Alzheimer's disease and other tauopathies. Tau is a key molecular player in these conditions and therefore represents an attractive target for passive immunization approaches. We performed such an approach in two independent tau transgenic mouse models of tauopathy, K369I tau transgenic K3 and P301L tau transgenic pR5 mice. The antibodies we used were either specific for full-length tau or tau phosphorylated at serine 404 (pS404), a residue that forms part of the paired helical filament (PHF)-1 phosphoepitope that characterizes tau neurofibrillary tangles in tauopathies. Although both pS404 antibodies had a similar affinity, they differed in isotype, and only passive immunization with the IgG2a/κ pS404-specific antibody resulted in a lower tangle burden and reduced phosphorylation of tau at the PHF1 epitope in K3 mice. In pR5 mice, the same antibody led to a reduced phosphorylation of the pS422 and PHF1 epitopes of tau. In addition, histological sections of the hippocampal dentate gyrus of the immunized pR5 mice displayed reduced pS422 staining intensities. These results show that passive immunization targeting tau can modulate aspects of tau pathology in tau transgenic mouse models, in an antibody isotype-specific manner. We show that passive immunization targeting the pathological phosphorylation site pS404 on human tau with a monoclonal IgG2a/κ, but not a IgG1/κ antibody, reduced hyperphosphorylation of tau and tangle burden in two independent mouse models of tau pathology. This shows that both specificity and isotype of phospho-tau (p-tau)-specific antibodies are important for therapeutically ameliorating tau pathology.

p38 MAP kinase-mediated NMDA receptor-dependent suppression of hippocampal hypersynchronicity in a mouse model of Alzheimer's disease.

Hypersynchronicity of neuronal brain circuits is a feature of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Mouse models of AD expressing mutated forms of the amyloid-ß precursor protein (APP), a central protein involved in AD pathology, show cortical hypersynchronicity. We studied hippocampal circuitry in APP23 transgenic mice using telemetric electroencephalography (EEG), at the age of onset of memory deficits. APP23 mice display spontaneous hypersynchronicity in the hippocampus including epileptiform spike trains. Furthermore, spectral contributions of hippocampal theta and gamma oscillations are compromised in APP23 mice, compared to non-transgenic controls. Using cross-frequency coupling analysis, we show that hippocampal gamma amplitude modulation by theta phase is markedly impaired in APP23 mice. Hippocampal hypersynchronicity and waveforms are differentially modulated by injection of riluzole and the non-competitive N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor inhibitor MK801, suggesting specific involvement of voltage-gated sodium channels and NMDA receptors in hypersynchronicity thresholds in APP23 mice. Furthermore, APP23 mice show marked activation of p38 mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase in hippocampus, and injection of MK801 but not riluzole reduces activation of p38 in the hippocampus. A p38 inhibitor induces hypersynchronicity in APP23 mice to a similar extent as MK801, thus supporting suppression of hypersynchronicity involves NMDA receptors-mediated p38 activity. In summary, we characterize components of hippocampal hypersynchronicity, waveform patterns and cross-frequency coupling in the APP23 mouse model by pharmacological modulation, furthering the understanding of epileptiform brain activity in AD.