Dispersible amyloid β-protein oligomers, protofibrils, and fibrils represent diffusible but not soluble aggregates: their role in neurodegeneration in amyloid precursor protein (APP) transgenic mice.
Soluble amyloid β-protein (Aβ) aggregates have been identified in the Alzheimer's disease (AD) brain. Dispersed Aβ aggregates in the brain parenchyma are different from soluble, membrane-associated and plaque-associated solid aggregates. They are in mixture with the extra- or intracellular fluid but can be separated from soluble proteins by ultracentrifugation. To clarify the role of dispersible Aβ aggregates for neurodegeneration we analyzed 2 different amyloid precursor protein (APP)-transgenic mouse models. APP23 mice overexpress human mutant APP with the Swedish mutation. APP51/16 mice express high levels of human wild type APP. Both mice develop Aβ-plaques. Dendritic degeneration, neuron loss, and loss of asymmetric synapses were seen in APP23 but not in APP51/16 mice. The soluble and dispersible fractions not separated from one another were received as supernatant after centrifugation of native forebrain homogenates at 14,000 × g. Subsequent ultracentrifugation separated the soluble, i.e., the supernatant, from the dispersible fraction, i.e., the resuspended pellet. The major biochemical difference between APP23 and APP51/16 mice was that APP23 mice exhibited higher levels of dispersible Aβ oligomers, protofibrils and fibrils precipitated with oligomer (A11) and protofibril/fibril (B10AP) specific antibodies than APP51/16 mice. These differences, rather than soluble Aβ and Aβ plaque pathology were associated with dendritic degeneration, neuron, and synapse loss in APP23 mice in comparison with APP51/16 mice. Immunoprecipitation of dispersible Aβ oligomers, protofibrils, and fibrils revealed that they were associated with APP C-terminal fragments (APP-CTFs). These results indicate that dispersible Aβ oligomers, protofibrils, and fibrils represent an important pool of Aβ aggregates in the brain that critically interact with membrane-associated APP C-terminal fragments. The concentration of dispersible Aβ aggregates, thereby, presumably determines its toxicity.
Laboratory of Neuropathology, Institute of Pathology, Center for Clinical Research at the University of Ulm, Ulm, Germany.
Ajeet
A
Rijal Upadhaya
Estibaliz
E
Capetillo-Zarate
Irina
I
Kosterin
Dorothee
D
Abramowski
Sathish
S
Kumar
Haruyasu
H
Yamaguchi
Jochen
J
Walter
Marcus
M
Fändrich
Matthias
M
Staufenbiel
Dietmar Rudolf
DR
Thal
D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D016564:Amyloid beta-Protein Precursor / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D000818:Animals; D001921:Brain / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D006801:Humans; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D008822:Mice, Transgenic; D009154:Mutation / Q000235:genetics; D009474:Neurons / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D058225:Plaque, Amyloid / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D055503:Protein Multimerization; D013569:Synapses / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*
D016564:Amyloid beta-Protein Precursor