title: Cerebral dopamine neurotrophic factor improves long-term memory in APP/PS1 transgenic mice modeling Alzheimer's disease as well as in wild-type mice.
abstract: Cerebral dopamine neurotrophic factor (CDNF) protects and repairs dopamine neurons in animal models of Parkinson's disease, which motivated us to investigate its therapeutic effect in an animal model of Alzheimer's disease (AD). We employed an established APP/PS1 mouse model of AD and gave intrahippocampal injections of CDNF protein or CDNF transgene in an AAV2 viral vector to 1-year-old animals. We performed a behavioral test battery 2 weeks after the injections and collected tissue samples after the 3-week test period. Intrahippocampal CDNF-therapy improved long-term memory in both APP/PS1 mice and wild-type controls, but did not affect spontaneous exploration, object neophobia or early stages of spatial learning. The memory improvement was not associated with decreased brain amyloid load or enhanced hippocampal neurogenesis. Intracranial CDNF treatment has beneficial effects on long-term memory and is well tolerated. The CDNF molecular mechanisms of action on memory await further studies.
authors.affiliation: A.I. Virtanen Institute, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland.
authors.forename: Susanna
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kemppainen
authors.affiliation: Institute of Biotechnology, University of Helsinki, Finland.
authors.forename: Päivi
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Lindholm
authors.affiliation: Institute of Biotechnology, University of Helsinki, Finland.
authors.forename: Emilia
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Galli
authors.affiliation: A.I. Virtanen Institute, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland.
authors.forename: Hanna-Maija
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Lahtinen
authors.affiliation: A.I. Virtanen Institute, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland.
authors.forename: Henna
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Koivisto
authors.affiliation: A.I. Virtanen Institute, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland.
authors.forename: Elina
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Hämäläinen
authors.affiliation: Institute of Biotechnology, University of Helsinki, Finland.
authors.forename: Mart
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Saarma
authors.affiliation: A.I. Virtanen Institute, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland; Department of Neurology, Kuopio University Hospital, Kuopio, Finland. Electronic address: Heikki.Tanila@uef.fi.
authors.forename: Heikki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Tanila
mesh_terms: D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy; D000682:Amyloid / Q000378:metabolism; D016564:Amyloid beta-Protein Precursor / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D000818:Animals; D000229:Dependovirus / Q000235:genetics; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D005260:Female; D015316:Genetic Therapy / Q000379:methods; D005822:Genetic Vectors; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D000069077:Memory Consolidation / Q000502:physiology; D057567:Memory, Long-Term / Q000502:physiology*; D008809:Mice, Inbred C3H; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D008822:Mice, Transgenic; D009414:Nerve Growth Factors / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D055495:Neurogenesis / Q000502:physiology; D053764:Presenilin-1 / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D011994:Recombinant Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: C545487:APP protein, human; D000682:Amyloid; D016564:Amyloid beta-Protein Precursor; C522217:CDNF protein, human; D009414:Nerve Growth Factors; C508853:PSEN1 protein, human; D053764:Presenilin-1; D011994:Recombinant Proteins
keywords: Amyloid; Gene therapy; Memory; Neurotrophic factor; Transgenic