title: Rapamycin ester analog CCI-779/Temsirolimus alleviates tau pathology and improves motor deficit in mutant tau transgenic mice.
abstract: Neurofibrillary tangles are intracellular inclusions made of tau protein that accumulates in neurons in Alzheimer's disease (AD) and in other tauopathies. We have investigated the ability of the rapamycin ester CCI-779/Temsilorimus, a mTOR inhibitor with better stability and pharmacological properties compared to rapamycin, to interfere with the development of a motor phenotype and tau pathology in a mutant tau mouse model developing neurofibrillary tangles, by stimulation of mTOR dependent macroautophagy. Mutant tau mice (Tg30) were treated with CCI-779 before onset of motor signs for 7 months (from 5 to 12 months of age) or after the onset of motor signs for 2 months (from 10 to 12 months of age). End-point motor deficits were 50% lower in the group of Tg30 mice treated for 7 months. Inhibition of mTOR signaling and stimulation of macroautophagy in the brain of CCI-779 treated Tg30 mice was suggested by decreased phosphorylation of mTOR downstream signaling molecules p70S6 kinase and Akt and increased level of the autophagy markers Rab7 and LC3-II. CCI-779 treatment decreased the brain levels of Sarkosyl-insoluble tau and phosphotau inTg30 mice both after 2 months or 7 months of treatment. The density of neurofibrillary tangles was significantly decreased when treatment was started prior onset of motor signs. These results indicate that stimulation of mTOR dependent autophagy by CCI-779 compound is efficient to counteract the accumulation of abnormal tau when administered early or late in a tauopathy model and to improve a motor deficit when started before onset of motor signs.
authors.affiliation: Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Laboratory of Histology, Neuroanatomy and Neuropathology, ULB Neuroscience Institute, Brussels, Belgium.
authors.forename: Christelle
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Frederick
authors.affiliation: Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Laboratory of Histology, Neuroanatomy and Neuropathology, ULB Neuroscience Institute, Brussels, Belgium.
authors.forename: Kunie
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ando
authors.affiliation: Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Laboratory of Histology, Neuroanatomy and Neuropathology, ULB Neuroscience Institute, Brussels, Belgium.
authors.forename: Karelle
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Leroy
authors.affiliation: Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Laboratory of Histology, Neuroanatomy and Neuropathology, ULB Neuroscience Institute, Brussels, Belgium.
authors.forename: Céline
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Héraud
authors.affiliation: Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Laboratory of Histology, Neuroanatomy and Neuropathology, ULB Neuroscience Institute, Brussels, Belgium.
authors.forename: Valérie
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Suain
authors.affiliation: INSERM, U837. Université de Lille 2, Lille, France.
authors.forename: Luc
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Buée
authors.affiliation: Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Laboratory of Histology, Neuroanatomy and Neuropathology, ULB Neuroscience Institute, Brussels, Belgium.
authors.forename: Jean-Pierre
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Brion
mesh_terms: D000704:Analysis of Variance; D000818:Animals; D001921:Brain / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics; D006801:Humans; D008099:Liver / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D051379:Mice; D008822:Mice, Transgenic; D009043:Motor Activity / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics; D009069:Movement Disorders / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000209:etiology*; D009154:Mutation / Q000235:genetics; D047428:Protein Kinase Inhibitors / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D045442:Rotarod Performance Test; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics; D020123:Sirolimus / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D058570:TOR Serine-Threonine Kinases / Q000378:metabolism; D024801:Tauopathies / Q000150:complications / Q000235:genetics / Q000473:pathology; D020691:rab GTP-Binding Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D000090802:rab7 GTP-Binding Proteins; D016875:tau Proteins / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D047428:Protein Kinase Inhibitors; D000090802:rab7 GTP-Binding Proteins; C000716463:rab7 GTP-binding proteins, human; C000716465:rab7 GTP-binding proteins, mouse; D016875:tau Proteins; C401859:temsirolimus; D058570:TOR Serine-Threonine Kinases; D020691:rab GTP-Binding Proteins; D020123:Sirolimus
keywords: CCI-779; mTOR; macroautophagy; neurofibrillary tangles; tauopathy