scholarly journals Impaired α-tubulin re-tyrosination leads to synaptic dysfunction and is a feature of Alzheimer's disease

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leticia Peris ◽  
Xiaoyi Qu ◽  
Jean-Marc Soleilhac ◽  
Julie Parato ◽  
Fabien Lante ◽  
...  

In neurons, dynamic microtubules play regulatory roles in neurotransmission and synaptic plasticity. While stable microtubules contain detyrosinated tubulin, dynamic microtubules are composed of tyrosinated tubulin, suggesting that the tubulin tyrosination/detyrosination (Tyr/deTyr) cycle modulates microtubule dynamics and synaptic function. In the Tyr/deTyr cycle, the C-terminal tyrosine of alpha-tubulin is re-added by tubulin-tyrosine-ligase (TTL). Here we show that TTL+/- mice exhibit decreased tyrosinated microtubules, synaptic plasticity and memory deficits, and that reduced TTL expression is a feature of sporadic and familial Alzheimer's disease (AD), with human APPV717I neurons having less dynamic microtubules. We find that spines visited by dynamic microtubules are more resistant to Abeta1-42 and that TTL, by promoting microtubule entry into spines, prevents Abeta1-42-induced spine pruning. Our results demonstrate that the Tyr/deTyr cycle regulates synaptic plasticity, is protective against spine injury, and that tubulin re-tyrosination is lost in AD, providing evidence that a defective Tyr/deTyr cycle may contribute to neurodegeneration.

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-16
Author(s):  
Wei Wei ◽  
Yinghua Liu ◽  
Chunling Dai ◽  
Narjes Baazaoui ◽  
Yunn-Chyn Tung ◽  
...  

Background: Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder characterized by impairments in synaptic plasticity and cognitive performance. Cognitive dysfunction and loss of neuronal plasticity are known to begin decades before the clinical diagnosis of the disease. The important influence of congenital genetic mutations on the early development of AD provides a novel opportunity to initiate treatment during early development to prevent the Alzheimer-like behavior and synaptic dysfunction. Objective: To explore strategies for early intervention to prevent Alzheimer’s disease. Methods: In the present study, we investigated the effect of treatment during early development with a ciliary neurotrophic factor (CNTF) derived peptidergic compound, P021 (Ac-DGGLAG-NH2) on cognitive function and synaptic plasticity in 3xTg-AD transgenic mouse model of AD. 3xTg-AD and genetic background-matched wild type female mice were treated from birth to postnatal day 120 with P021 in diet or as a control with vehicle diet, and cognitive function and molecular markers of neuroplasticity were evaluated. Results: P021 treatment during early development prevented cognitive impairment and increased expressions of pCREB and BDNF that activated downstream various signaling cascades such as PLC/PKC, MEK/ERK and PI3K/Akt, and ameliorated synaptic protein deficit in 4-month-old 3xTg-AD mice. Conclusion: These findings indicate that treatment with the neurotrophic peptide mimetic such as P021 during early development can be an effective therapeutic strategy to rescue synaptic deficit and cognitive impairment in familial AD and related tauopathies.


2022 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Shaun Cade ◽  
Xin-Fu Zhou ◽  
Larisa Bobrovskaya

Abstract Alzheimer’s disease is a neurodegenerative condition that is potentially mediated by synaptic dysfunction before the onset of cognitive impairments. The disease mostly affects elderly people and there is currently no therapeutic which halts its progression. One therapeutic strategy for Alzheimer’s disease is to regenerate lost synapses by targeting mechanisms involved in synaptic plasticity. This strategy has led to promising drug candidates in clinical trials, but further progress needs to be made. An unresolved problem of Alzheimer’s disease is to identify the molecular mechanisms that render the aged brain susceptible to synaptic dysfunction. Understanding this susceptibility may identify drug targets which could halt, or even reverse, the disease’s progression. Brain derived neurotrophic factor is a neurotrophin expressed in the brain previously implicated in Alzheimer’s disease due to its involvement in synaptic plasticity. Low levels of the protein increase susceptibility to the disease and post-mortem studies consistently show reductions in its expression. A desirable therapeutic approach for Alzheimer’s disease is to stimulate the expression of brain derived neurotrophic factor and potentially regenerate lost synapses. However, synthesis and secretion of the protein are regulated by complex activity-dependent mechanisms within neurons, which makes this approach challenging. Moreover, the protein is synthesised as a precursor which exerts the opposite effect of its mature form through the neurotrophin receptor p75NTR. This review will evaluate current evidence on how age-related alterations in the synthesis, processing and signalling of brain derived neurotrophic factor may increase the risk of Alzheimer’s disease.


Author(s):  
Tao Ma

Currently there is no effective cure or intervention available for Alzheimer’s disease (AD), a devastating neurodegenerative disease and the most common form of dementia. It is urgent to understand the basic cellular/molecular signaling mechanisms underlying AD pathophysiology to identify novel therapeutic targets and diagnostic biomarkers. Many studies indicate impaired synaptic function as a key and early event in AD pathogenesis. Mounting evidence suggests that dysregulations in mRNA translation (protein synthesis) may contribute to the development of synaptic dysfunction and cognitive defects in neurodegenerative diseases including AD. Protein synthesis happens in three phases (initiation, elongation, and termination) and is tightly controlled through regulation of multiple signaling pathways in response to various stimuli. Integral protein synthesis is indispensable for memory formation and maintenance of synaptic plasticity. Interruption of protein synthesis homeostasis can lead to impairments in cognition and synaptic plasticity. This chapter reviews recent studies supporting the idea that impaired protein synthesis is an important mechanism underlying AD-associated cognitive deficits and synaptic failure. It focuses on three signaling cascades controlling protein synthesis: eukaryotic initiation factor 2α (eIF2α), the mammalian target of rapamycin complex 1 (mTORC1), and eukaryotic elongation factor 2 (eEF2). Findings from human and animal studies demonstrating an association between dysregulation of these pathways and AD pathophysiology are summarized and discussed.


Aging Cell ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 19 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Carlos J. Rodriguez‐Ortiz ◽  
Gilberto Aleph Prieto ◽  
Alessandra C. Martini ◽  
Stefania Forner ◽  
Laura Trujillo‐Estrada ◽  
...  

2014 ◽  
Vol 369 (1633) ◽  
pp. 20130147 ◽  
Author(s):  
Igor Klyubin ◽  
Tomas Ondrejcak ◽  
Jennifer Hayes ◽  
William K. Cullen ◽  
Alexandra J. Mably ◽  
...  

Many endogenous factors influence the time course and extent of the detrimental effects of amyloid β-protein (Aβ) on synaptic function. Here, we assessed the impact of varying endogenous glutamatergic and cholinergic transmission by pharmacological means on the disruption of plasticity at hippocampal CA3-to-CA1 synapses in the anaesthetized rat. NMDA receptors (NMDARs) are considered critical in mediating Aβ-induced inhibition of long-term potentiation (LTP). However, intracerebroventricular injection of Aβ 1–42 inhibited not only NMDAR-dependent LTP but also voltage-activated Ca 2+ -dependent LTP induced by strong conditioning stimulation during NMDAR blockade. On the other hand, another form of NMDAR-independent synaptic plasticity, endogenous acetylcholine-induced muscarinic receptor-dependent long-term enhancement, was not hindered by Aβ 1–42 . Interestingly, augmenting endogenous acetylcholine activation of nicotinic receptors prior to the injection of Aβ 1–42 prevented the inhibition of NMDAR-dependent LTP, whereas the same intervention when introduced after the infusion of Aβ was ineffective. We also examined the duration of action of Aβ, including water soluble Aβ from Alzheimer's disease (AD) brain. Remarkably, the inhibition of LTP induction caused by a single injection of sodium dodecyl sulfate-stable Aβ dimer-containing AD brain extract persisted for at least a week. These findings highlight the need to increase our understanding of non-NMDAR mechanisms and of developing novel means of overcoming, rather than just preventing, the deleterious synaptic actions of Aβ.


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