Cited by 143Alzheimer's disease research and treatmentsPrion Diseases and Protein MisfoldingNeuroinflammation and Neurodegeneration Mechanisms

Templated misfolding of Tau by prion-like seeding along neuronal connections impairs neuronal network function and associated behavioral outcomes in Tau transgenic mice

Open access
Stancu, Ilie-Cosmin, Vasconcelos, Bruno, Ris, Laurence, Wang, Peng, Villers, Agnès, Peeraer, Eve, Buist, Arjan, Terwel, Dick +9 more·2015·Acta Neuropathologica

Abstract

Prion-like seeding and propagation of Tau-pathology have been demonstrated experimentally and may underlie the stereotyped progression of neurodegenerative Tauopathies. However, the involvement of templated misfolding of Tau in neuronal network dysfunction and behavioral outcomes remains to be explored in detail. Here we analyzed the repercussions of prion-like spreading of Tau-pathology via neuronal connections on neuronal network function in TauP301S transgenic mice. Spontaneous and GABA(A)R-antagonist-induced neuronal network activity were affected following templated Tau-misfolding using synthetic preformed Tau fibrils in cultured primary neurons. Electrophysiological analysis in organotypic hippocampal slices of Tau transgenic mice demonstrated impaired synaptic transmission and impaired long-term potentiation following Tau-seed induced Tau-aggregation. Intracerebral injection of Tau-seeds in TauP301S mice, caused prion-like spreading of Tau-pathology through functionally connected neuroanatomical pathways. Electrophysiological analysis revealed impaired synaptic plasticity in hippocampal CA1 region 6 months after Tau-seeding in entorhinal cortex (EC). Furthermore, templated Tau aggregation impaired cognitive function, measured in the object recognition test 6 months post-seeding. In contrast, Tau-seeding in basal ganglia and subsequent spreading through functionally connected neuronal networks involved in motor control, resulted in motoric deficits reflected in clasping and impaired inverted grid hanging, not significantly affected following Tau-seeding in EC. Immunostaining, biochemical and electron microscopic analysis in the different models suggested early pathological forms of Tau, including Tau-oligomers, rather than fully mature neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs) as culprits of neuronal dysfunction. We here demonstrate for the first time using in vitro, ex vivo and in vivo models, that prion-like spreading of Tau-misfolding by Tau seeds, along unique neuronal connections, causes neuronal network dysfunction and associated behavioral dysfunction. Our data highlight the potential relevance of this mechanism in the symptomatic progression in Tauopathies. We furthermore demonstrate that the initial site of Tau-seeding thereby determines the behavioral outcome, potentially underlying the observed heterogeneity in (familial) Tauopathies, including in TauP301 mutants.

The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.

Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.

A few free checks a day · papers already verified open instantly · results are public

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1007/s00401-015-1413-4

Cites

76 of 76 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Claims the paper makes

The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.

Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.

A few free checks a day · papers already verified open instantly · results are public

Claims other papers make about this one

Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?

  • Degeneration could be initiated through synaptic or axonal mechanisms, independent of apoptosis.

    “These observations raise the prospect that degeneration could be initiated through synaptic or axonal mechanisms, independent of apoptosis, a mechanism which has been widely studied in other model systems, such as spinal cord injury and Multiple Sclerosis 59–61.”

    From Amyloid-beta induced retrograde axonal degeneration in a mouse tauopathy model (2019) · cites this paper as [60]

    The Discussion (page unavailable) reports impaired synaptic plasticity and points to a postsynaptic mechanism for tau-seeding-induced neuronal dysfunction. It does not establish that degeneration is initiated through synaptic or axonal mechanisms, or that the process is independent of apoptosis. (LLM, conf=0.83)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

Self-check

Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.

The self-check needs the paper’s full text.

Cites

Flagged first, then by citations

Cited by

Sorted by citations

Authors
Stancu, I.-C., Vasconcelos, B., Ris, L., Wang, P., Villers, A., Peeraer, E., Buist, A., Terwel, D., Baatsen, P., Oyelami, T., Pierrot, N., Casteels, C., Bormans, G., Kienlen-Campard, P., Octave, J.-N., Moechars, D., & Dewachter, I.
Affiliations
  • UCLouvain (BE)
  • University of Mons (BE)
  • Janssen (Belgium) (BE)
  • KU Leuven (BE)
Corresponding author
Dewachter, Ilse
Venue
Acta Neuropathologica
Published
2015-04-11
Volume
129
Issue
6
Pages
875-894
ISSN
  • 0001-6322 (ISSN-L)
  • 1432-0533
OpenAlex
W2109355761
Cited by
143
References
76
Citations by year
2026: 4 · 2025: 6 · 2024: 12 · 2023: 10 · 2022: 12 · 2021: 15 · 2020: 16 · 2019: 15 · 2018: 14 · 2017: 18 · 2016: 18 · 2015: 3
FWCI
13.01
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Acta Neuropathologica (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Lirias (submittedVersion, other-oa)
  • Digital Access to Libraries (submittedVersion)
  • Document Server@UHasselt (UHasselt) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
  • ORBi UMONS (submittedVersion)
Funders
  • Fonds De La Recherche Scientifique - FNRS
  • Vlaamse regering
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Physiology › Alzheimer's disease research and treatments
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Prion Diseases and Protein Misfolding
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Neurology › Neuroinflammation and Neurodegeneration Mechanisms
Keywords
tau protein, prion-like seeding, tauopathy, neuronal network dysfunction, synaptic transmission, long-term potentiation, synaptic plasticity, hippocampus, entorhinal cortex, basal ganglia, motor impairment, cognitive impairment, object recognition, tau oligomers, neurofibrillary tangles, GABA-A receptor antagonists, organotypic hippocampal slices
MeSH terms
Animals, Animals, Newborn, Calcium, Cognition Disorders, Disease Models, Animal, Exploratory Behavior, Hippocampus, Membrane Potentials, Mice, Inbred C57BL, Mice, Transgenic, Mutation, Nerve Net, Prions, Fura-2, Neurofibrillary Tangles, tau Proteins, Tauopathies, Mice, Proteostasis Deficiencies, In Vitro Techniques

About these checks

Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.

Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.

Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.

What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›

Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review