title: Early memory deficits precede plaque deposition in APPswe/PS1dE9 mice: involvement of oxidative stress and cholinergic dysfunction.
abstract: A large body of evidence has shown that cognitive deficits occur early, before amyloid plaque deposition, suggesting that soluble amyloid-β protein (Aβ) contributes to the development of early cognitive dysfunction in Alzheimer disease (AD). However, the underlying mechanism(s) through which soluble Aβ exerts its neurotoxicity responsible for cognitive dysfunction in the early stage of AD remains unclear so far. In this study, we used preplaque APPswe/PS1dE9 mice ages 2.5 and 3.5 months to examine alterations in cognitive function, oxidative stress, and cholinergic function. We found that only soluble Aβ, not insoluble Aβ, was detected in these preplaque APPswe/PS1dE9 mice. APPswe/PS1dE9 mice 2.5 months of age did not show any significant changes in the measures of cognitive function, oxidative stress, and cholinergic function, whereas 3.5-month-old APPswe/PS1dE9 mice exhibited spatial memory impairment in the Morris water maze, accompanied by significantly decreased acetylcholine (ACh), choline acetyltransferase (ChAT), superoxide dismutase (SOD), and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-px) as well as increased malondialdehyde (MDA) and protein carbonyls. In 3.5-month-old preplaque APPswe/PS1dE9 mice, correlational analyses revealed that the performance of impaired spatial memory was inversely correlated with soluble Aβ, MDA, and protein carbonyls, as well as being positively correlated with ACh, ChAT, SOD, and GSH-px; soluble Aβ level was inversely correlated with ACh, ChAT, SOD, and GSH-px, as well as being positively correlated with MDA and protein carbonyls; ACh level showed a significant positive correlation with ChAT, SOD, and GSH-px, as well as a significant inverse correlation with MDA and protein carbonyls. Collectively, this study provides direct evidence that increased oxidative damage and cholinergic dysfunction may be early pathological responses to soluble Aβ and involved in early memory deficits in the preplaque stage of AD. These findings suggest that early antioxidant therapy and improving cholinergic function may be a promising strategy to prevent or delay the onset and progression of AD.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Tangdu Hospital, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an City, Shaanxi Province 710038, China.
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Miao
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bai
authors.forename: Ye
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Xi
authors.forename: Jian
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hao
authors.forename: Liu
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Ni
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Mao
authors.forename: Changjun
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Su
authors.forename: Jianting
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Miao
authors.forename: Zhuyi
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Li
mesh_terms: D000109:Acetylcholine / Q000378:metabolism; D016564:Amyloid beta-Protein Precursor / Q000378:metabolism*; D000818:Animals; D001921:Brain / Q000378:metabolism; D002795:Choline O-Acetyltransferase / Q000378:metabolism; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005979:Glutathione Peroxidase / Q000378:metabolism; D008315:Malondialdehyde / Q000378:metabolism; D018782:Maze Learning; D008569:Memory Disorders / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D051379:Mice; D008822:Mice, Transgenic; D018384:Oxidative Stress; D011950:Receptors, Cholinergic / Q000502:physiology*; D013482:Superoxide Dismutase / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D016564:Amyloid beta-Protein Precursor; D011950:Receptors, Cholinergic; D008315:Malondialdehyde; D005979:Glutathione Peroxidase; D013482:Superoxide Dismutase; D002795:Choline O-Acetyltransferase; D000109:Acetylcholine