Cited by 1Neuroinflammation and Neurodegeneration MechanismsAlzheimer's disease research and treatmentsNeuroscience and Neuropharmacology Research

AXL-mediate GEF-H1 phosphorylation was involved in microglia synapse phagocytosis in 5xFAD mice

Chen, Genyu, Zhang, Jian, Dong, Aiwen, Xiao, Lingmin, Huang, Pinyuan, Huang, Tianwen, Ye, Qinyong, Huang, En·2025·Experimental Neurology

Abstract

Studies indicated that microglial synapse phagocytosis played a critical role in synapse loss and pathogenesis in Alzheimer's disease. AXL was one of key phagocytic receptors and was upgraded in disease associated microglia. This study aimed to investigate the role of AXL-mediated microglial synapse phagocytosis in AD mice model. Our data indicated that AXL was increased in microglia in 5xFAD mouse AD model. The lentivirus PLV-CXC3CR1-shAXl was applied to especially knockdown the AXL expression in microglia and the shAXL treatment ameliorated the cognitive impairment in 5xFAD mice. AXL knockdown decreased the 6E10 positive amyloid plaques, the diffusion index of amyloid plaques and the level of phosphorylated Tau. shAXL treatment increased microglial complexity and reduced the microglial synapse phagocytosis. This study further demonstrated that GEF-H1 was identified as a substrate of AXL and mainly phosphorylated at Y470 by AXL. The AXL-mediated GEF-H1-Y470 phosphorylation enhanced the phagocytic capacity of BV2. It seems paradoxical that amyloid plaque load and microglial phagocytosis were both decreased at the same time when the AXL was knockdown, but these indicated that microglia phagocytosis related synapse loss played a more critical role in cognitive impairment and AD pathogenesis than amyloid plaque load. Our study demonstrated that the activated AXL in microglia in 5xFAD enhanced synapse phagocytosis via phosphorylating GEF-H1 at Y470, which led to synapse loss and cognitive impairment. The application of AXL blockage would be a potential therapeutic strategy for AD treatment.

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Crossref · 10.1016/j.expneurol.2025.115327

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Authors
Chen, G., Zhang, J., Dong, A., Xiao, L., Huang, P., Huang, T., Ye, Q., & Huang, E.
Affiliations
Fujian Medical University (CN)
Corresponding author
Huang, En
Venue
Experimental Neurology
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2025-10
Volume
392
Pages
115327
ISSN
0014-4886 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W4410952255
Cited by
1
References
39
Citations by year
2025: 1
FWCI
0.36
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Locations
  • Experimental Neurology (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Funders
National Natural Science Foundation of China
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Neurology › Neuroinflammation and Neurodegeneration Mechanisms
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Physiology › Alzheimer's disease research and treatments
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience › Neuroscience and Neuropharmacology Research
Keywords
AXL receptor tyrosine kinase, GEF-H1, Alzheimer's disease, 5xFAD mice, synaptic loss, amyloid plaques, phosphorylated tau, cognitive impairment, microglial phagocytosis, disease-associated microglia, therapeutic target
MeSH terms
Axl Receptor Tyrosine Kinase, Alzheimer Disease, Animals, Disease Models, Animal, Male, Mice, Inbred C57BL, Mice, Transgenic, Phagocytosis, Phosphorylation, Proto-Oncogene Proteins, Synapses, Microglia, Receptor Protein-Tyrosine Kinases, Mice, Rho Guanine Nucleotide Exchange Factors

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