title: Deletion of tau attenuates heat shock-induced injury in cultured cortical neurons.
abstract: The microtubule-associated protein tau has been implicated in beta-amyloid- and glutamate-induced neurotoxicity. However, the potential role of tau in response to other insults to neurons remains unclear. In this study, we examined whether deletion of tau would change cell injury induced by heat shock in primary cultures of cortical neurons. After 30 min of a 45 degrees C heat shock, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) release increased, reaching a peak at 6 hr in wild-type (WT) neurons. A significantly lower LDH release, with a peak delayed by 24 hr, was detected in tau knockout (TKO) neurons. After heat shock treatment, MAP-2 and tubulin staining of the processes of WT neurons revealed more dramatic abnormalities than in TKO neurons. Both WT and TKO neurons exhibited a similar elevation of HSP70 level but different time courses of Akt phosphorylation. In contrast to an early, brief response in WT neurons, TKO neurons displayed a late, but long-lasting increase in phosphorylation of Akt and its downstream target, glycogen synthase kinase 3beta. Additionally, inhibition of Akt activity aggravated the cell morbidity caused by heat shock exposure in both WT and TKO neurons, indicating a protective role of Akt against cell injury. In conclusion, our results demonstrate that deletion of tau attenuated heat shock-induced neuronal injury. Enhanced Akt response in the absence of endogenous tau is suggested to represent a compensatory mechanism for regulating cell reactions to stress stimuli.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Neurobiology, Fudan University, Shanghai, People's Republic of China. yymiao@fudan.edu.cn
authors.forename: Yanying
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Miao
authors.forename: Jie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Qipeng
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Anyang
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sun
mesh_terms: D000704:Analysis of Variance; D000818:Animals; D015153:Blotting, Western; D002470:Cell Survival; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism*; D005455:Fluorescent Antibody Technique; D038362:Glycogen Synthase Kinase 3 / Q000378:metabolism; D000071679:Glycogen Synthase Kinase 3 beta; D018869:Heat-Shock Response / Q000235:genetics*; D006358:Hot Temperature; D051379:Mice; D018345:Mice, Knockout; D009474:Neurons / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism*; D010766:Phosphorylation; D051057:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt / Q000378:metabolism; D013997:Time Factors; D016875:tau Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D016875:tau Proteins; D000071679:Glycogen Synthase Kinase 3 beta; C000605507:Gsk3b protein, mouse; D051057:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt; D038362:Glycogen Synthase Kinase 3