title: Role of Trisomy 21 Mosaicism in Sporadic and Familial Alzheimer's Disease.
abstract: Trisomy 21 and the consequent extra copy of the amyloid precursor protein (APP) gene and increased beta-amyloid (Aβ) peptide production underlie the universal development of Alzheimer's disease (AD) pathology and high risk of AD dementia in people with Down syndrome (DS). Trisomy 21 and other forms of aneuploidy also arise among neurons and peripheral cells in both sporadic and familial AD and in mouse and cell models thereof, reinforcing the conclusion that AD and DS are two sides of the same coin. The demonstration that 90% of the neurodegeneration in AD can be attributed to the selective loss of aneuploid neurons generated over the course of the disease indicates that aneuploidy is an essential feature of the pathogenic pathway leading to the depletion of neuronal cell populations. Trisomy 21 mosaicism also occurs in neurons and other cells from patients with Niemann-Pick C1 disease and from patients with familial or sporadic frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD), as well as in their corresponding mouse and cell models. Biochemical studies have shown that Aβ induces mitotic spindle defects, chromosome mis-segregation, and aneuploidy in cultured cells by inhibiting specific microtubule motors required for mitosis. These data indicate that neuronal trisomy 21 and other types of aneuploidy characterize and likely contribute to multiple neurodegenerative diseases and are a valid target for therapeutic intervention. For example, reducing extracellular calcium or treating cells with lithium chloride (LiCl) blocks the induction of trisomy 21 by Aβ. The latter finding is relevant in light of recent reports of a lowered risk of dementia in bipolar patients treated with LiCl and in the stabilization of cognition in AD patients treated with LiCl.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology and Linda Crnic Institute for Down Syndrome, 12700 E. 19th Ave room 4010, mail stop 8608, Aurora CO 80045, USA. huntington.potter@ucdenver.edu.
authors.forename: Huntington
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Potter
authors.forename: Antoneta
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Granic
authors.forename: Julbert
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Caneus
mesh_terms: D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D016229:Amyloid beta-Peptides / Q000378:metabolism; D016564:Amyloid beta-Protein Precursor / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D000818:Animals; D002453:Cell Cycle / Q000235:genetics; D002891:Chromosomes, Human, Pair 21 / Q000235:genetics; D006801:Humans; D018021:Lithium Chloride / Q000494:pharmacology; D051379:Mice; D009030:Mosaicism; D009474:Neurons / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D053764:Presenilin-1 / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D014314:Trisomy / Q000235:genetics* / Q000473:pathology; D024182:Uniparental Disomy / Q000235:genetics* / Q000473:pathology
chemical_list: D016229:Amyloid beta-Peptides; D016564:Amyloid beta-Protein Precursor; D053764:Presenilin-1; D018021:Lithium Chloride