scholarly journals Effects of Sex, Age, and Apolipoprotein E Genotype on Brain Ceramides and Sphingosine-1-Phosphate in Alzheimer’s Disease and Control Mice

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sandra den Hoedt ◽  
Simone M. Crivelli ◽  
Frank P. J. Leijten ◽  
Mario Losen ◽  
Jo A. A. Stevens ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Alzheimer’S Disease ◽  
Alzheimer's Disease ◽  
Acyl Chain ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Sex Effects ◽  
Strong Risk Factor ◽  
Acyl Chain Length ◽  
Sphingosine 1 Phosphate ◽  
And Control ◽  
Apolipoprotein E Genotype

Apolipoprotein ε4 (APOE)4 is a strong risk factor for the development of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and aberrant sphingolipid levels have been implicated in AD. We tested the hypothesis that the APOE4 genotype affects brain sphingolipid levels in AD. Seven ceramides and sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P) were quantified by LC-MSMS in hippocampus, cortex, cerebellum, and plasma of <3 months and >5 months old human APOE3 and APOE4-targeted replacement mice with or without the familial AD (FAD) background of both sexes (145 animals). APOE4 mice had higher Cer(d18:1/24:0) levels in the cortex (1.7-fold, p = 0.002) than APOE3 mice. Mice with AD background showed higher levels of Cer(d18:1/24:1) in the cortex than mice without (1.4-fold, p = 0.003). S1P levels were higher in all three brain regions of older mice than of young mice (1.7-1.8-fold, all p ≤ 0.001). In female mice, S1P levels in hippocampus (r = −0.54 [−0.70, −0.35], p < 0.001) and in cortex correlated with those in plasma (r = −0.53 [−0.71, −0.32], p < 0.001). Ceramide levels were lower in the hippocampus (3.7–10.7-fold, all p < 0.001), but higher in the cortex (2.3–12.8-fold, p < 0.001) of female than male mice. In cerebellum and plasma, sex effects on individual ceramides depended on acyl chain length (9.5-fold lower to 11.5-fold higher, p ≤ 0.001). In conclusion, sex is a stronger determinant of brain ceramide levels in mice than APOE genotype, AD background, or age. Whether these differences impact AD neuropathology in men and women remains to be investigated.

scholarly journals Platelet phosphorylated TDP-43: An exploratory study for a peripheral surrogate biomarker development for Alzheimer’s disease

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rodger Wilhite ◽  
Jessica Sage ◽  
Abdurrahman Bouzid ◽  
Tyler Primavera ◽  
Abdulbaki Agbas
Keyword(s):  
Alzheimer’S Disease ◽  
Alzheimer's Disease ◽  
Early Stage ◽  
Clinical Signs ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Post Mortem ◽  
Disease Prognosis ◽  
Post Mortem Brain ◽  
And Control ◽  
Lateral Sclerosis

AbstractAim: Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and other forms of dementia create a non-curable disease population in World’s societies. To develop a blood-based biomarker is important so that the remedial or disease-altering therapeutic intervention for AD patients would be available at the early stage. Materials & Methods: TDP-43 levels were analyzed in post-mortem brain tissue and platelets of AD and control subjects. Results: We observed an increased TDP-43 (<60%) in post-mortem AD brain regions and similar trends were also observed in patient’s platelets. Conclusion: Platelet TDP-43 could be used as a surrogate biomarker that is measurable, reproducible, and sensitive for screening the patients with some early clinical signs of AD and can be used to monitor disease prognosis.Lay abstractIn this study, we explore to identify an Alzheimer’s disease-selective phospho-specific antibody that recognizes the diseased form of TDP-43 protein in patient’s blood-derived platelets. Our results suggest that selective anti-phosphorylated TDP-43 antibody discriminates Alzheimer’s disease from non-demented controls and patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Therefore, platelet screening with a selective antibody could potentially be a useful tool for diagnostic purposes for Alzheimer’s disease.

SPECIFIC PROPERTIES OF TUBULIN IN THE PREFRONTAL CORTEX IN CONTROL, SCHIZOPHRENIA AND VASCULAR DEMENTIA

2020 ◽  
pp. 65-71
Author(s):  
Burbaeva G.Sh. ◽  
Androsova L.V. ◽  
Vorobyeva E.A. ◽  
Savushkina O.K.
Keyword(s):  
Alzheimer’S Disease ◽  
Alzheimer's Disease ◽  
Prefrontal Cortex ◽  
Vascular Dementia ◽  
Binding Activity ◽  
Nephelometric Method ◽  
Rate Of Polymerization ◽  
Mental Diseases ◽  
And Control ◽  
The Brain

The aim of the study was to evaluate the rate of polymerization of tubulin into microtubules and determine the level of colchicine binding (colchicine-binding activity of tubulin) in the prefrontal cortex in schizophrenia, vascular dementia (VD) and control. Colchicine-binding activity of tubulin was determined by Sherlinе in tubulin-enriched extracts of proteins from the samples. Measurement of light scattering during the polymerization of the tubulin was carried out using the nephelometric method at a wavelength of 450-550 nm. There was a significant decrease in colchicine-binding activity and the rate of tubulin polymerization in the prefrontal cortex in both diseases, and in VD to a greater extent than in schizophrenia. The obtained results suggest that not only in Alzheimer's disease, but also in other mental diseases such as schizophrenia and VD, there is a decrease in the level of tubulin in the prefrontal cortex of the brain, although to a lesser extent than in Alzheimer's disease, and consequently the amount of microtubules.

A Biomarker Combining Imaging and Neuropsychological Assessment for Tracking Early Alzheimer's Disease in Clinical Trials

2018 ◽  
Vol 15 (5) ◽  
pp. 429-442 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nishant Verma ◽  
S. Natasha Beretvas ◽  
Belen Pascual ◽  
Joseph C. Masdeu ◽  
Mia K. Markey ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Alzheimer’S Disease ◽  
Alzheimer's Disease ◽  
Clinical Trials ◽  
Cognitive Impairment ◽  
Latent Variable ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Disease Assessment ◽  
Latent Variable Analysis ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Selection Of

Background: Combining optimized cognitive (Alzheimer's Disease Assessment Scale- Cognitive subscale, ADAS-Cog) and atrophy markers of Alzheimer's disease for tracking progression in clinical trials may provide greater sensitivity than currently used methods, which have yielded negative results in multiple recent trials. Furthermore, it is critical to clarify the relationship among the subcomponents yielded by cognitive and imaging testing, to address the symptomatic and anatomical variability of Alzheimer's disease. Method: Using latent variable analysis, we thoroughly investigated the relationship between cognitive impairment, as assessed on the ADAS-Cog, and cerebral atrophy. A biomarker was developed for Alzheimer's clinical trials that combines cognitive and atrophy markers. Results: Atrophy within specific brain regions was found to be closely related with impairment in cognitive domains of memory, language, and praxis. The proposed biomarker showed significantly better sensitivity in tracking progression of cognitive impairment than the ADAS-Cog in simulated trials and a real world problem. The biomarker also improved the selection of MCI patients (78.8±4.9% specificity at 80% sensitivity) that will evolve to Alzheimer's disease for clinical trials. Conclusion: The proposed biomarker provides a boost to the efficacy of clinical trials focused in the mild cognitive impairment (MCI) stage by significantly improving the sensitivity to detect treatment effects and improving the selection of MCI patients that will evolve to Alzheimer’s disease.

scholarly journals Genome-wide analysis identifies a novel LINC-PINT splice variant associated with vascular amyloid pathology in Alzheimer’s disease

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph S. Reddy ◽  
Mariet Allen ◽  
Charlotte C. G. Ho ◽  
Stephanie R. Oatman ◽  
Özkan İş ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Alzheimer’S Disease ◽  
Alzheimer's Disease ◽  
Genome Wide Association Study ◽  
Transcriptome Profiling ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Common Finding ◽  
Amyloid Angiopathy ◽  
Genome Wide ◽  
A Genome ◽  
Male Sex

AbstractCerebral amyloid angiopathy (CAA) contributes to accelerated cognitive decline in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) dementia and is a common finding at autopsy. The APOEε4 allele and male sex have previously been reported to associate with increased CAA in AD. To inform biomarker and therapeutic target discovery, we aimed to identify additional genetic risk factors and biological pathways involved in this vascular component of AD etiology. We present a genome-wide association study of CAA pathology in AD cases and report sex- and APOE-stratified assessment of this phenotype. Genome-wide genotypes were collected from 853 neuropathology-confirmed AD cases scored for CAA across five brain regions, and imputed to the Haplotype Reference Consortium panel. Key variables and genome-wide genotypes were tested for association with CAA in all individuals and in sex and APOEε4 stratified subsets. Pathway enrichment was run for each of the genetic analyses. Implicated loci were further investigated for functional consequences using brain transcriptome data from 1,186 samples representing seven brain regions profiled as part of the AMP-AD consortium. We confirmed association of male sex, AD neuropathology and APOEε4 with increased CAA, and identified a novel locus, LINC-PINT, associated with lower CAA amongst APOEε4-negative individuals (rs10234094-C, beta = −3.70 [95% CI −0.49—−0.24]; p = 1.63E-08). Transcriptome profiling revealed higher LINC-PINT expression levels in AD cases, and association of rs10234094-C with altered LINC-PINT splicing. Pathway analysis indicates variation in genes involved in neuronal health and function are linked to CAA in AD patients. Further studies in additional and diverse cohorts are needed to assess broader translation of our findings.

scholarly journals Distinct network topology in Alzheimer’s disease and behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Adeline Su Lyn Ng ◽  
Juan Wang ◽  
Kwun Kei Ng ◽  
Joanna Su Xian Chong ◽  
Xing Qian ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Alzheimer’S Disease ◽  
Alzheimer's Disease ◽  
Frontotemporal Dementia ◽  
Network Topology ◽  
Neuropsychiatric Symptoms ◽  
Brain Network ◽  
Salience Network ◽  
Behavioral Variant Frontotemporal Dementia ◽  
Control Networks ◽  
And Control

Abstract Background Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD) cause distinct atrophy and functional disruptions within two major intrinsic brain networks, namely the default network and the salience network, respectively. It remains unclear if inter-network relationships and whole-brain network topology are also altered and underpin cognitive and social–emotional functional deficits. Methods In total, 111 participants (50 AD, 14 bvFTD, and 47 age- and gender-matched healthy controls) underwent resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and neuropsychological assessments. Functional connectivity was derived among 144 brain regions of interest. Graph theoretical analysis was applied to characterize network integration, segregation, and module distinctiveness (degree centrality, nodal efficiency, within-module degree, and participation coefficient) in AD, bvFTD, and healthy participants. Group differences in graph theoretical measures and empirically derived network community structures, as well as the associations between these indices and cognitive performance and neuropsychiatric symptoms, were subject to general linear models, with age, gender, education, motion, and scanner type controlled. Results Our results suggested that AD had lower integration in the default and control networks, while bvFTD exhibited disrupted integration in the salience network. Interestingly, AD and bvFTD had the highest and lowest degree of integration in the thalamus, respectively. Such divergence in topological aberration was recapitulated in network segregation and module distinctiveness loss, with AD showing poorer modular structure between the default and control networks, and bvFTD having more fragmented modules in the salience network and subcortical regions. Importantly, aberrations in network topology were related to worse attention deficits and greater severity in neuropsychiatric symptoms across syndromes. Conclusions Our findings underscore the reciprocal relationships between the default, control, and salience networks that may account for the cognitive decline and neuropsychiatric symptoms in dementia.

scholarly journals Deep-MEG: spatiotemporal CNN features and multiband ensemble classification for predicting the early signs of Alzheimer’s disease with magnetoencephalography

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Antonio Giovannetti ◽  
Gianluca Susi ◽  
Paola Casti ◽  
Arianna Mencattini ◽  
Sandra Pusil ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Alzheimer’S Disease ◽  
Alzheimer's Disease ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Ensemble Classification ◽  
The Novel ◽  
Ensemble Classifiers ◽  
Deep Convolutional Neural Networks ◽  
Early Signs ◽  
Data Representations ◽  
The Brain

AbstractIn this paper, we present the novel Deep-MEG approach in which image-based representations of magnetoencephalography (MEG) data are combined with ensemble classifiers based on deep convolutional neural networks. For the scope of predicting the early signs of Alzheimer’s disease (AD), functional connectivity (FC) measures between the brain bio-magnetic signals originated from spatially separated brain regions are used as MEG data representations for the analysis. After stacking the FC indicators relative to different frequency bands into multiple images, a deep transfer learning model is used to extract different sets of deep features and to derive improved classification ensembles. The proposed Deep-MEG architectures were tested on a set of resting-state MEG recordings and their corresponding magnetic resonance imaging scans, from a longitudinal study involving 87 subjects. Accuracy values of 89% and 87% were obtained, respectively, for the early prediction of AD conversion in a sample of 54 mild cognitive impairment subjects and in a sample of 87 subjects, including 33 healthy controls. These results indicate that the proposed Deep-MEG approach is a powerful tool for detecting early alterations in the spectral–temporal connectivity profiles and in their spatial relationships.

scholarly journals Microcanonical and Canonical Ensembles for fMRI Brain Networks in Alzheimer’s Disease

Entropy ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 216 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jianjia Wang ◽  
Xichen Wu ◽  
Mingrui Li ◽  
Hui Wu ◽  
Edwin Hancock
Keyword(s):  
Alzheimer’S Disease ◽  
Alzheimer's Disease ◽  
Ensemble Methods ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Fmri Data ◽  
Thermal Systems ◽  
Network Construction ◽  
Network Characteristics ◽  
Network Entropy ◽  
Canonical Ensembles

This paper seeks to advance the state-of-the-art in analysing fMRI data to detect onset of Alzheimer’s disease and identify stages in the disease progression. We employ methods of network neuroscience to represent correlation across fMRI data arrays, and introduce novel techniques for network construction and analysis. In network construction, we vary thresholds in establishing BOLD time series correlation between nodes, yielding variations in topological and other network characteristics. For network analysis, we employ methods developed for modelling statistical ensembles of virtual particles in thermal systems. The microcanonical ensemble and the canonical ensemble are analogous to two different fMRI network representations. In the former case, there is zero variance in the number of edges in each network, while in the latter case the set of networks have a variance in the number of edges. Ensemble methods describe the macroscopic properties of a network by considering the underlying microscopic characterisations which are in turn closely related to the degree configuration and network entropy. When applied to fMRI data in populations of Alzheimer’s patients and controls, our methods demonstrated levels of sensitivity adequate for clinical purposes in both identifying brain regions undergoing pathological changes and in revealing the dynamics of such changes.

scholarly journals The extracellular chaperone Clusterin enhances Tau aggregate seeding in a cellular model

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Patricia Yuste-Checa ◽  
Victoria A. Trinkaus ◽  
Irene Riera-Tur ◽  
Rahmi Imamoglu ◽  
Theresa F. Schaller ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Alzheimer’S Disease ◽  
Alzheimer's Disease ◽  
Disease Progression ◽  
Frontotemporal Dementia ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Model System ◽  
Cellular Model ◽  
Tau Pathology ◽  
Extracellular Chaperone ◽  
Tau Aggregate

AbstractSpreading of aggregate pathology across brain regions acts as a driver of disease progression in Tau-related neurodegeneration, including Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and frontotemporal dementia. Aggregate seeds released from affected cells are internalized by naïve cells and induce the prion-like templating of soluble Tau into neurotoxic aggregates. Here we show in a cellular model system and in neurons that Clusterin, an abundant extracellular chaperone, strongly enhances Tau aggregate seeding. Upon interaction with Tau aggregates, Clusterin stabilizes highly potent, soluble seed species. Tau/Clusterin complexes enter recipient cells via endocytosis and compromise the endolysosomal compartment, allowing transfer to the cytosol where they propagate aggregation of endogenous Tau. Thus, upregulation of Clusterin, as observed in AD patients, may enhance Tau seeding and possibly accelerate the spreading of Tau pathology.

Learning Deficits Accompanied by Microglial Proliferation After the Long-Term Post-Injection of Alzheimer’s Disease Brain Extract in Mouse Brains

2021 ◽  
Vol 79 (4) ◽  
pp. 1701-1711
Author(s):  
Tetsuo Hayashi ◽  
Shotaro Shimonaka ◽  
Montasir Elahi ◽  
Shin-Ei Matsumoto ◽  
Koichi Ishiguro ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Alzheimer’S Disease ◽  
Alzheimer's Disease ◽  
Mouse Brain ◽  
Functional Decline ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Insoluble Fraction ◽  
Brain Extract ◽  
Post Injection ◽  
Learning Deficits

Background: Human tauopathy brain injections into the mouse brain induce the development of tau aggregates, which spread to functionally connected brain regions; however, the features of this neurotoxicity remain unclear. One reason may be short observational periods because previous studies mostly used mutated-tau transgenic mice and needed to complete the study before these mice developed neurofibrillary tangles. Objective: To examine whether long-term incubation of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) brain in the mouse brain cause functional decline. Methods: We herein used Tg601 mice, which overexpress wild-type human tau, and non-transgenic littermates (NTg) and injected an insoluble fraction of the AD brain into the unilateral hippocampus. Results: After a long-term (17–19 months) post-injection, mice exhibited learning deficits detected by the Barnes maze test. Aggregated tau pathology in the bilateral hippocampus was more prominent in Tg601 mice than in NTg mice. No significant changes were observed in the number of Neu-N positive cells or astrocytes in the hippocampus, whereas that of Iba-I-positive microglia increased after the AD brain injection. Conclusion: These results potentially implicate tau propagation in functional decline and indicate that long-term changes in non-mutated tau mice may reflect human pathological conditions.

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