scholarly journals Therapeutic B-cell depletion reverses progression of Alzheimer’s disease

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ki Kim ◽  
Xin Wang ◽  
Emeline Ragonnaud ◽  
Monica Bodogai ◽  
Tomer Illouz ◽  
...  

AbstractThe function of B cells in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is not fully understood. While immunoglobulins that target amyloid beta (Aβ) may interfere with plaque formation and hence progression of the disease, B cells may contribute beyond merely producing immunoglobulins. Here we show that AD is associated with accumulation of activated B cells in circulation, and with infiltration of B cells into the brain parenchyma, resulting in immunoglobulin deposits around Aβ plaques. Using three different murine transgenic models, we provide counterintuitive evidence that the AD progression requires B cells. Despite expression of the AD-fostering transgenes, the loss of B cells alone is sufficient to reduce Aβ plaque burden and disease-associated microglia. It reverses behavioral and memory deficits and restores TGFβ+ microglia, respectively. Moreover, therapeutic depletion of B cells at the onset of the disease retards AD progression in mice, suggesting that targeting B cells may also benefit AD patients.

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Weixi Feng ◽  
Yanli Zhang ◽  
Tianqi Wang ◽  
Ze Wang ◽  
Yan Chen ◽  
...  

Increasing evidence shows that the peripheral immune system is involved in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Here, we report that pulmonary B cells mitigate beta-Amyloid (Aβ) pathology in 5xFAD mice. The proportion of B cells rather than T cells increases in brain, meningeal and lung tissues in 3-month-old 5xFAD mice. Deletion of B cells aggravates Aβ load and memory deficits of 5xFAD mice. Mechanimsly, pulmonary B cells can migrate to the brain parenchyma and produce interleukin-35 that inhibits neuronal β-site APP-cleaving enzyme 1 expression, subsequently reducing the production of Aβ. In turn, proliferation of pulmonary B cells is associated with activation of toll-like receptor/nuclear factor kappa-B pathway by elevated Aβ that is drained from the brain parenchyma to the lungs via meningeal lymphatics. Furthermore, promoting pulmonary B cell proliferation via overexpression of B-cell-activating factor ameliorates brain Aβ load and improves cognitive functions of 10-month-old 5xFAD mice. Together, these results highlight the lungs as both immune targets and effector organs in Aβ pathogenesis. Pulmonary B cells might be a potential target against AD.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Weixi Feng ◽  
Yanli Zhang ◽  
Tianqi Wang ◽  
Qian Li ◽  
Ze Wang ◽  
...  

Abstract Increasing evidences reveal that the peripheral immune system is involved in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Here, we report that pulmonary B lymphocytes mitigate beta-Amyloid (Aβ) pathology in 5xFAD mice. The proportion of B cells, rather than T cells, increases within the brain, meningeal and lung tissues in 3-month-old 5xFAD mice. Deletion of mature B cells aggravates Aβ load and memory deficits of 5xFAD mice. Mechanistically, pulmonary B cells can migrate to the brain parenchyma and produce interleukin-35, which inhibits neuronal β-site APP-cleaving enzyme 1 expression, and subsequently reduces the production of Aβ. In turn, pulmonary B cell proliferation is associated with activation of the toll-like receptor/nuclear factor kappa-B pathway through elevated Aβ that is drained from the brain parenchyma to the lungs via meningeal lymphatics. Furthermore, promoting pulmonary B cell proliferation via overexpression of B-cell-activating factor ameliorates brain Aβ load and improves cognitive functions of 10-month-old 5xFAD mice. Together, these results highlight the lungs as both immune targets and effector organs in Aβ pathogenesis. Pulmonary B cells could serve as a potential target against AD.


Cells ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 957
Author(s):  
Brad T. Casali ◽  
Erin G. Reed-Geaghan

Microglia are the resident immune cells of the brain, deriving from yolk sac progenitors that populate the brain parenchyma during development. During development and homeostasis, microglia play critical roles in synaptogenesis and synaptic plasticity, in addition to their primary role as immune sentinels. In aging and neurodegenerative diseases generally, and Alzheimer’s disease (AD) specifically, microglial function is altered in ways that significantly diverge from their homeostatic state, inducing a more detrimental inflammatory environment. In this review, we discuss the receptors, signaling, regulation and gene expression patterns of microglia that mediate their phenotype and function contributing to the inflammatory milieu of the AD brain, as well as strategies that target microglia to ameliorate the onset, progression and symptoms of AD.


Open Biology ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. 210013
Author(s):  
Vyshnavy Balendra ◽  
Sandeep Kumar Singh

Oxidative stress, the imbalance of the antioxidant system, results in an accumulation of neurotoxic proteins in Alzheimer's disease (AD). The antioxidant system is composed of exogenous and endogenous antioxidants to maintain homeostasis. Superoxide dismutase (SOD) is an endogenous enzymatic antioxidant that converts superoxide ions to hydrogen peroxide in cells. SOD supplementation in mice prevented cognitive decline in stress-induced cells by reducing lipid peroxidation and maintaining neurogenesis in the hippocampus. Furthermore, SOD decreased expression of BACE1 while reducing plaque burden in the brain. Additionally, Astaxanthin (AST), a potent exogenous carotenoid, scavenges superoxide anion radicals. Mice treated with AST showed slower memory decline and decreased depositions of amyloid-beta (A β ) and tau protein. Currently, the neuroprotective potential of these supplements has only been examined separately in studies. However, a single antioxidant cannot sufficiently resist oxidative damage to the brain, therefore, a combinatory approach is proposed as a relevant therapy for ameliorating pathological changes in AD.


SLEEP ◽  
2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jessica E Owen ◽  
Bryndis Benediktsdottir ◽  
Elizabeth Cook ◽  
Isleifur Olafsson ◽  
Thorarinn Gislason ◽  
...  

Abstract Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) involves intermittent cessations of breathing during sleep. People with OSA can experience memory deficits and have reduced hippocampal volume; these features are also characteristic of Alzheimer’s disease (AD), where they are accompanied by neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs) and amyloid beta (Aβ) plaques in the hippocampus and brainstem. We have recently shown reduced hippocampal volume to be related to OSA severity, and although OSA may be a risk factor for AD, the hippocampus and brainstems of clinically verified OSA cases have not yet been examined for NFTs and Aβ plaques. The present study used quantitative immunohistochemistry to investigate postmortem hippocampi of 34 people with OSA (18 females, 16 males; mean age 67 years) and brainstems of 24 people with OSA for the presence of NFTs and Aβ plaques. OSA severity was a significant predictor of Aβ plaque burden in the hippocampus after controlling for age, sex, body mass index (BMI), and continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) use. OSA severity also predicted NFT burden in the hippocampus, but not after controlling for age. Although 71% of brainstems contained NFTs and 21% contained Aβ plaques, their burdens were not correlated with OSA severity. These results indicate that OSA accounts for some of the “cognitively normal” individuals who have been found to have substantial Aβ burdens, and are currently considered to be at a prodromal stage of AD.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kevin Kleffman ◽  
Grace Levinson ◽  
Eitan Wong ◽  
Francisco Galán-Echevarría ◽  
Richard Von-Itter ◽  
...  

SummaryBrain metastasis is a significant cause of morbidity and mortality in multiple cancer types and represents an unmet clinical need. The mechanisms that mediate metastatic cancer growth in the brain parenchyma are largely unknown. Melanoma, which has the highest rate of brain metastasis among common cancer types, is an ideal model to study how cancer cells adapt to the brain parenchyma. We performed unbiased proteomics analysis of melanoma short-term cultures, a novel model for the study of brain metastasis. Intriguingly, we found that proteins implicated in neurodegenerative pathologies are differentially expressed in melanoma cells explanted from brain metastases compared to those derived from extracranial metastases. This raised the exciting hypothesis that molecular pathways implicated in neurodegenerative disorders are critical for metastatic adaptation to the brain.Here, we show that melanoma cells require amyloid beta (Aβ), a polypeptide heavily implicated in Alzheimer’s disease, for growth and survival in the brain parenchyma. Melanoma cells produce and secrete Aβ, which activates surrounding astrocytes to a pro-metastatic, anti-inflammatory phenotype. Furthermore, we show that pharmacological inhibition of Aβ decreases brain metastatic burden.Our results reveal a mechanistic connection between brain metastasis and Alzheimer’s disease – two previously unrelated pathologies, establish Aβ as a promising therapeutic target for brain metastasis, and demonstrate suppression of neuroinflammation as a critical feature of metastatic adaptation to the brain parenchyma.


2019 ◽  
Vol 40 (11) ◽  
pp. 2179-2187 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cristian Salinas ◽  
Talakad G Lohith ◽  
Ajay Purohit ◽  
Arie Struyk ◽  
Cyrille Sur ◽  
...  

[18F]MK-6240 is a selective, high-affinity PET radiotracer for imaging neurofibrillary tangles (NFT) in Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Herein, we report test–retest (T–RT) reproducibility of [18F]MK-6240 in AD and healthy volunteers (HV). Twelve subjects with AD and three cognitively normal HV were enrolled in the study and dynamically scanned for 150 min with [18F]MK-6240 under a T–RT protocol. Two radioactivity doses were investigated: 165 ± 3 MBq (n = 6) and 300 ± 40 MBq (n = 9). Serial arterial blood samples were taken for each scan to obtain metabolite-corrected input functions. Following intravenous administration of [18F]MK-6240, the tracer rapidly partitioned into the brain and its heterogenous distribution pattern was consistent with known NFT pathology in AD. In contrast, uptake in HV was low and uniform across the brain parenchyma. Across all subjects, average T–RT variabilities in NFT-rich regions were ∼21%, ∼14% and ∼6% for various quantitative metrics: total distribution volume (VT), binding potential (BPND), and standardized uptake ratio (SUVR90–120), respectively. No significant differences in SUVR T–RT variability were observed between the high and low injected radioactivity groups (5.6% and 6.1%, respectively). This work suggests [18F]MK-6240 has adequate SUVR T–RT characteristics supporting the use of this outcome in future studies.


Author(s):  
Angélica María Sabogal-Guáqueta ◽  
Julián David Arias-Londoño ◽  
Johanna Gutierrez-Vargas ◽  
D. Sepulveda-Falla ◽  
M. Glatzel ◽  
...  

2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (9) ◽  
pp. 3270
Author(s):  
Ruth Maron ◽  
Gad Armony ◽  
Michael Tsoory ◽  
Meir Wilchek ◽  
Dan Frenkel ◽  
...  

The two major proteins involved in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) are the amyloid precursor protein (APP) and Tau. Here, we demonstrate that these two proteins can bind to each other. Four possible peptides APP1 (390–412), APP2 (713–730), Tau1 (19–34) and Tau2 (331–348), were predicted to be involved in this interaction, with actual binding confirmed for APP1 and Tau1. In vivo studies were performed in an Alzheimer Disease animal model—APP double transgenic (Tg) 5xFAD—as well as in 5xFAD crossed with Tau transgenic 5xFADXTau (FT), which exhibit declined cognitive reduction at four months of age. Nasal administration of APP1 and Tau1 mixture, three times a week for four or five months, reduced amyloid plaque burden as well as the level of soluble Aβ 1–42 in the brain. The treatment prevented the deterioration of cognitive functions when initiated at the age of three months, before cognitive deficiency was evident, and also at the age of six months, when such deficiencies are already observed, leading to a full regain of cognitive function.


2001 ◽  
Vol 67 ◽  
pp. 1-14 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Allsop ◽  
Lance J. Twyman ◽  
Yvonne Davies ◽  
Susan Moore ◽  
Amber York ◽  
...  

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common cause of dementia in old age and presently affects an estimated 4 million people in the U.S.A. and 0.75 million people in the U.K. It is a relentless, degenerative brain disease, characterized by progressive cognitive impairment. In the final stages of the disease, patients are often bedridden, doubly incontinent and unable to speak or to recognize close relatives. Pathological changes of Alzheimer's disease include extensive neuronal loss and the presence of numerous neurofibrillary tangles and senile plaques in the brain. The senile plaques contain amyloid fibrils derived from a 39-43-amino-acid peptide referred to as ϐ-amyloid or Aϐ. The basic theory of the so-called 'amyloid hypothesis' is that the deposition of aggregated forms of Aϐ in the brain parenchyma triggers a pathological cascade of events that leads to neurofibrillary tangle formation, neuronal loss and the associated dementia [1]. Here we discuss progress towards the identification of inhibitors of Aϐ production and fibrillization.


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