Activation of glycogen synthase kinase-3 beta mediates ß-amyloid induced neuritic damage in Alzheimer's disease

ß-Amyloid (Aß) plaques in Alzheimer (AD) brains are surrounded by severe dendritic and axonal changes, including local spine loss, axonal swellings and distorted neurite trajectories. Whether and how plaques induce these neuropil abnormalities remains unknown. We tested the hypothesis that oligomeri...

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Bibliographic Details
Authors: DaRocha-Souto B., Coma M., Pérez-Nievas B.G., Scotton T.C., Siao M., Sánchez-Ferrer P., Hashimoto T., Fan Z., Hudry E., Barroeta I., Serenó L., Rodríguez M., Sánchez M.B., Hyman B.T., Gómez-Isla T.
Format: article
Status:Published version
Publication Date:2012
Country:España
Institution:Institut d’Investigació Biomèdica Sant Pau (IIB Sant Pau)
Repository:r-IIB SANT PAU. Repositorio Institucional de Producción Científica del Instituto de Investigación Biomédica Sant Pau
OAI Identifier:oai:iibsantpau.fundanetsuite.com:p11611
Online Access:https://iibsantpau.fundanetsuite.com/Publicaciones/ProdCientif/PublicacionFrw.aspx?id=11611
https://europepmc.org/article/MED/21945540
Access Level:Open access
Keyword:amyloid beta protein
brain derived neurotrophic factor
cyclic AMP responsive element binding protein
glycogen synthase kinase 3
glycogen synthase kinase 3 inhibitor
tau protein
Alzheimer disease
animal cell
animal experiment
animal model
animal tissue
article
brain cell
cell loss
controlled study
drug efficacy
enzyme activation
enzyme activity
enzyme phosphorylation
gene expression
mouse
nerve cell
nerve cell lesion
nerve cell plasticity
nerve degeneration
neurotoxicity
nonhuman
pathogenesis
pharmacological blocking
phenotype
priority journal
Alzheimer Disease
Amyloid beta-Peptides
Animals
Brain
Cells, Cultured
Dendritic Spines
Glycogen Synthase Kinase 3
Mice
Mice, Transgenic
Neurites
Neurons
tau Proteins
Description
Summary:ß-Amyloid (Aß) plaques in Alzheimer (AD) brains are surrounded by severe dendritic and axonal changes, including local spine loss, axonal swellings and distorted neurite trajectories. Whether and how plaques induce these neuropil abnormalities remains unknown. We tested the hypothesis that oligomeric assemblies of Aß, seen in the periphery of plaques, mediate the neurodegenerative phenotype of AD by triggering activation of the enzyme GSK-3ß, which in turn appears to inhibit a transcriptional program mediated by CREB. We detect increased activity of GSK-3ß after exposure to oligomeric Aß in neurons in culture, in the brain of double transgenic APP/tau mice and in AD brains. Activation of GSK-3ß, even in the absence of Aß, is sufficient to produce a phenocopy of Aß-induced dendritic spine loss in neurons in culture, while pharmacological inhibition of GSK-3ß prevents spine loss and increases expression of CREB-target genes like BDNF. Of note, in transgenic mice GSK-3ß inhibition ameliorated plaque-related neuritic changes and increased CREB-mediated gene expression. Moreover, GSK-3ß inhibition robustly decreased the oligomeric Aß load in the mouse brain. All these findings support the idea that GSK3ß is aberrantly activated by the presence of Aß, and contributes, at least in part, to the neuronal anatomical derangement associated with Aß plaques in AD brains and to Aß pathology itself. © 2011 Elsevier Inc.