Cited by 321Alzheimer's disease research and treatmentsNeuroinflammation and Neurodegeneration MechanismsDementia and Cognitive Impairment Research

Amyloid β peptide induces tau phosphorylation and loss of cholinergic neurons in rat primary septal cultures

Zheng, W.-H, Bastianetto, S, Mennicken, F, Ma, W, Kar, S·2002·Neuroscience

Abstract

The neuropathological features associated with Alzheimer's disease (AD) brain include the presence of extracellular neuritic plaques composed of amyloid beta protein (Abeta), intracellular neurofibrillary tangles containing phosphorylated tau protein and the loss of basal forebrain cholinergic neurons which innervate regions such as the hippocampus and the cortex. Studies of the pathological changes that characterize AD and several other lines of evidence indicate that Abeta accumulation in vivo may initiate phosphorylation of tau protein, which by disrupting neuronal network may trigger the process of neurodegeneration observed in AD brains. However, the underlying cause of degeneration of the basal forebrain cholinergic neurons and their association, if any, to Abeta peptides or phosphorylated tau remains mostly unknown. In the present study, using rat primary septal cultures, we have shown that aggregated Abeta peptides, in a time (18-96 h)- and concentration (0.7-60 microM)-dependent manner, induce toxicity and decrease choline acetyltransferase enzyme activity in cultured neurons. Using immunocytochemistry and immunoblotting, we have also demonstrated that Abeta treatment can significantly increase the phosphorylation of tau protein in septal cultures. At the cellular level, hyperphosphorylated tau is mostly apparent in the somatodendritic compartment of the neurons. Abeta peptide (10 microM), in addition to tau phosphorylation, also activates mitogen-activated protein kinase and glycogen synthase kinase-3beta, the two kinases which are known to be involved in the formation of hyperphosphorylated tau in the AD brain. Exposure to specific inhibitors of the mitogen-activated protein kinase (i.e. PD98059) or glycogen synthase kinase-3beta (i.e. LiCl) attenuated the hyperphosphorylation of the tau protein in cultured neurons. Given the evidence that tau phosphorylation can induce cell loss by disrupting neuronal cytoskeleton, it is likely that aggregated Abeta peptide triggers degeneration of septal neurons, including those expressing the cholinergic phenotype, by phosphorylation of the tau protein activated by mitogen-activated protein kinase and glycogen synthase kinase-3beta. These results, taken together, suggest that cultured septal cholinergic neurons are vulnerable to Abeta-mediated toxicity and tau phosphorylation may play an important role in Abeta-induced neurodegeneration.

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Crossref · 10.1016/s0306-4522(02)00404-9

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Authors
Zheng, W.-H., Bastianetto, S., Mennicken, F., Ma, W., & Kar, S.
Affiliations
Douglas Mental Health University Institute (CA)
Corresponding author
Kar, S
Venue
Neuroscience
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2002-11
Volume
115
Issue
1
Pages
201-211
ISSN
0306-4522 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W2047514208
Cited by
321
References
66
Citations by year
2026: 3 · 2025: 16 · 2024: 14 · 2023: 23 · 2022: 15 · 2021: 19 · 2020: 20 · 2019: 18 · 2018: 18 · 2017: 18 · 2016: 12 · 2015: 16 · 2014: 12 · 2013: 13 · 2012: 14
FWCI
4.60
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Locations
  • Neuroscience (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Physiology › Alzheimer's disease research and treatments
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Neurology › Neuroinflammation and Neurodegeneration Mechanisms
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Dementia and Cognitive Impairment Research
Keywords
amyloid-beta, tau phosphorylation, cholinergic neurons, septal neurons, Alzheimer's disease, neurodegeneration, mitogen-activated protein kinase, glycogen synthase kinase-3β, choline acetyltransferase, neurotoxicity, PD98059, lithium chloride, neurofibrillary tangles, neuritic plaques
MeSH terms
Animals, Cell Survival, Cells, Cultured, Choline O-Acetyltransferase, Cholinergic Fibers, Embryo, Mammalian, Female, Neurons, Peptide Fragments, Phosphorylation, Amyloid beta-Peptides, tau Proteins, Rats, Sprague-Dawley, Septum of Brain, Rats

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