Cited by 1,803Alzheimer's disease research and treatmentsAmyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis ResearchPrion Diseases and Protein Misfolding

Transmission and spreading of tauopathy in transgenic mouse brain

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Clavaguera, Florence, Bolmont, Tristan, Crowther, R. Anthony, Abramowski, Dorothee, Frank, Stephan, Probst, Alphonse, Fraser, Graham, Stalder, Anna K. +5 more·2009·Nature Cell Biology

Abstract

Hyperphosphorylated tau makes up the filamentous intracellular inclusions of several neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer's disease. In the disease process, neuronal tau inclusions first appear in the transentorhinal cortex from where they seem to spread to the hippocampal formation and neocortex. Cognitive impairment becomes manifest when inclusions reach the hippocampus, with abundant neocortical tau inclusions and extracellular beta-amyloid deposits being the defining pathological hallmarks of Alzheimer's disease. An abundance of tau inclusions, in the absence of beta-amyloid deposits, defines Pick's disease, progressive supranuclear palsy, corticobasal degeneration and other diseases. Tau mutations cause familial forms of frontotemporal dementia, establishing that tau protein dysfunction is sufficient to cause neurodegeneration and dementia. Thus, transgenic mice expressing mutant (for example, P301S) human tau in nerve cells show the essential features of tauopathies, including neurodegeneration and abundant filaments made of hyperphosphorylated tau protein. By contrast, mouse lines expressing single isoforms of wild-type human tau do not produce tau filaments or show neurodegeneration. Here we have used tau-expressing lines to investigate whether experimental tauopathy can be transmitted. We show that injection of brain extract from mutant P301S tau-expressing mice into the brain of transgenic wild-type tau-expressing animals induces assembly of wild-type human tau into filaments and spreading of pathology from the site of injection to neighbouring brain regions.

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  • Proteopathic tau seeds are capable of entering a cell and promoting aggregation in a prion-like manner.

    “Proteopathic tau seeds are capable of entering a cell and promoting aggregation in a prion-like manner (Clavaguera et al., 2009; Frost et al., 2009).”

    From Network analysis identifies strain-dependent response to tau and tau seeding-associated genes (2023) · cites this paper as Clavaguera et al., 2009

    In the supplied passage labeled Abstract (page unavailable), the paper reports that insoluble tau induces aggregation and compares the spreading of tau pathology to prions. It does not establish that tau seeds enter cells: it presents entry as one possible mechanism and induction from outside cells as another. (LLM, conf=0.90)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured
  • Inoculation of mice with tauopathy homogenates produces local pathology that spreads beyond the injection site.

    “inoculation of mice with tauopathy homogenates produces local pathology that spreads beyond the injection site (Clavaguera et al., 2009).”

    From Spontaneous pathology in PS19 tauopathy mice progresses via brain networks (2025) · cites this paper as Clavaguera et al., 2009

    The paper reports that brain extract from P301S tau mice induced pathology that spread beyond the injection site in transgenic mice expressing human wild-type tau. It also reports that pathology in non-transgenic mice remained confined to the injection site, so the claim needs that qualification. (LLM, conf=0.86)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured
  • Tau aggregates can transfer and propagate/spread within synaptic circuits.

    “This may be important as we know that tau aggregates can transfer and propagate/spread within synaptic circuits (Clavaguera et al., 2009, de Calignon et al., 2012).”

    From In vivo imaging of tau pathology using multi-parametric quantitative MRI (2015) · cites this paper as Clavaguera et al., 2009

    The paper reports experimental transmission of tau pathology and its spread to anatomically connected brain regions after injection of tau-containing extract (Abstract; page unavailable). It does not establish that tau aggregates transfer through synapses or propagate specifically within synaptic circuits; the mechanism of cell-to-cell spread is presented as a question for further investigation. (LLM, conf=0.87)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured
  • We are unable to explain how Aβ peptides, despite being part of the amyloid cascade, may participate in the neuron-to-neuron propagation of Tau pathology.

    “We are thus unable to explain how Aβ peptides—despite being a part of the amyloid cascade—may participate in the neuron-to-neuron propagation of Tau pathology [20].”

    From The new genetic landscape of Alzheimer’s disease: from amyloid cascade to genetically driven synaptic failure hypothesis? (2019) · cites this paper as [20]

    The discussion of spreading in the supplied copy (labelled Abstract; page unavailable) says the mechanism by which tau aggregates induce intracellular pathology remains to be investigated. It also reports that extracellular β-amyloid aggregates potentiated tau pathology in mutant-tau mice, but not wild-type-tau mice. It does not establish that Aβ peptides participate in neuron-to-neuron propagation of tau pathology or discuss their role in the amyloid cascade. (LLM, conf=0.82)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured
  • According to the amyloid cascade hypothesis, Aβ peptides are neurotoxic and are supposed to lead to or accentuate neuron-to-neuron propagation of Tau pathology, leading to neuronal death, by a still unknown mechanism.

    “According to the amyloid cascade hypothesis, Aβ peptides are neurotoxic and supposed to lead to or accentuate neuron-to-neuron propagation of Tau pathology—leading to neuronal death—by a still unknown mechanism [20].”

    From The new genetic landscape of Alzheimer’s disease: from amyloid cascade to genetically driven synaptic failure hypothesis? (2019) · cites this paper as [20]

    The discussion passage labeled Abstract (page unavailable) reports that extracellular β-amyloid aggregates potentiated tau pathology in mice expressing mutant human tau, but that no such effect was observed in mice expressing wild-type human tau. The paper also describes spreading tau pathology, but does not establish that Aβ drives neuron-to-neuron propagation or that this Aβ-related process leads to neuronal death; it reports no obvious neurodegeneration in the recipient mice. (LLM, conf=0.86)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

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Authors
Clavaguera, F., Bolmont, T., Crowther, R. A., Abramowski, D., Frank, S., Probst, A., Fraser, G., Stalder, A. K., Beibel, M., Staufenbiel, M., Jucker, M., Goedert, M., & Tolnay, M.
Affiliations
  • University of Basel (CH)
  • Hertie Institute for Clinical Brain Research (DE)
  • MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology (GB)
  • University Hospital of Basel (CH)
  • Novartis (Switzerland) (CH)
Corresponding author
  • Goedert, Michel
  • Tolnay, Markus
Venue
Nature Cell Biology
Published
2009-06-07
Volume
11
Issue
7
Pages
909-913
ISSN
  • 1465-7392 (ISSN-L)
  • 1476-4679
OpenAlex
W2099340107
Cited by
1,803
References
36
Citations by year
2026: 76 · 2025: 85 · 2024: 96 · 2023: 94 · 2022: 114 · 2021: 130 · 2020: 135 · 2019: 128 · 2018: 115 · 2017: 105 · 2016: 113 · 2015: 121 · 2014: 107 · 2013: 122 · 2012: 98
FWCI
56.34
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Nature Cell Biology (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
  • Infoscience (Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne) (submittedVersion)
  • Infoscience (Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne) (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
Funders
Schweizerischer Nationalfonds zur Förderung der Wissenschaftlichen Forschung (120261)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Physiology › Alzheimer's disease research and treatments
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Neurology › Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Research
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Prion Diseases and Protein Misfolding
Keywords
tauopathy, tau protein, hyperphosphorylated tau, transgenic mice, Alzheimer's disease, Pick's disease, progressive supranuclear palsy, corticobasal degeneration, frontotemporal dementia, neurodegeneration, transentorhinal cortex, hippocampus
MeSH terms
Animals, Brain, Humans, Immunohistochemistry, Mice, Transgenic, Blotting, Western, tau Proteins, Tauopathies, Mice

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