Cited by 656Alzheimer's disease research and treatmentsDementia and Cognitive Impairment ResearchNeuroinflammation and Neurodegeneration Mechanisms

Amyloid-β plaques enhance Alzheimer's brain tau-seeded pathologies by facilitating neuritic plaque tau aggregation

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He, Zhuohao, Guo, Jing L, McBride, Jennifer D, Narasimhan, Sneha, Kim, Hyesung, Changolkar, Lakshmi, Zhang, Bin, Gathagan, Ronald J +9 more·2018·Nature Medicine

Abstract

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is characterized by extracellular amyloid-β (Aβ) plaques and intracellular tau inclusions. However, the exact mechanistic link between these two AD lesions remains enigmatic. Through injection of human AD-brain-derived pathological tau (AD-tau) into Aβ plaque-bearing mouse models that do not overexpress tau, we recapitulated the formation of three major types of AD-relevant tau pathologies: tau aggregates in dystrophic neurites surrounding Aβ plaques (NP tau), AD-like neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs) and neuropil threads (NTs). These distinct tau pathologies have different temporal onsets and functional consequences on neural activity and behavior. Notably, we found that Aβ plaques created a unique environment that facilitated the rapid amplification of proteopathic AD-tau seeds into large tau aggregates, initially appearing as NP tau, which was followed by the formation and spread of NFTs and NTs, likely through secondary seeding events. Our study provides insights into a new multistep mechanism underlying Aβ plaque-associated tau pathogenesis.

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Crossref · 10.1038/nm.4443

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  • Gradual accumulation of amyloid beta begins in the early stages of Alzheimer's disease and initiates synaptic loss, neuroinflammation, neurofibrillary tangle formation, and neuronal dysfunction.

    “The gradual accumulation of amyloid-β (Aβ) begins in the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and initiates a series of events resulting in synaptic loss, neuroinflammation, the formation of neurofibrillary tangles, and neuronal dysfunction [27, 30, 71].”

    From Abnormal accumulation of extracellular vesicles in hippocampal dystrophic axons and regulation by the primary cilia in Alzheimer's disease (2023) · cites this paper as [27]

    The Abstract describes Aβ plaque accumulation as an early event, and the Discussion proposes that plaques facilitate the formation and spread of neurofibrillary tangles, with later dysfunction. The Discussion also says plaques are not sufficient to initiate tau pathology without suitable tau seeds. Our copy does not establish the claimed sequence leading to synaptic loss and neuroinflammation. (LLM, conf=0.88)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured
  • It is well known that hyperphosphorylation of tau proteins leads to their accumulation into neurofibrillary tangles, which can potentially destabilize microtubules.

    “It is well known that hyperphosphorylation of tau proteins leads to their accumulation into neurofibrillary tangles, which can potentially destabilize microtubules [27, 56].”

    From Abnormal accumulation of extracellular vesicles in hippocampal dystrophic axons and regulation by the primary cilia in Alzheimer's disease (2023) · cites this paper as [27]

    The Results section on NP tau aggregation reports that aggregated neuritic-plaque tau was hyperphosphorylated, and the paper describes subsequent formation of neurofibrillary tangles. It does not establish that hyperphosphorylation causes tangle formation. In the Results section on mislocalized tau, microtubule disruption is described as preceding tau disengagement in plaque-associated neurites, not as a potential consequence of tangles; no page numbers are available in our copy. (LLM, conf=0.86)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured
  • Genetically decreasing TREM2 levels or altering its function in transgenic mice with amyloid plaque deposits injected with human AD brain-derived tau aggregates enhances tau propagation.

    “Genetically decreasing TREM2 levels or altering its function in transgenic mice with amyloid plaque deposits injected with human AD brain-derived tau aggregates enhances tau propagation [19,30,31,32,39,40].”

    From TREM2-Deficient Microglia Attenuate Tau Spreading In Vivo (2023) · cites this paper as [40]

    The Results report enhanced tau pathology after injection of human AD-derived tau into plaque-bearing mice. They do not report genetically decreasing or altering TREM2; the gene reduced in this paper’s experiment was Mapt, and that reduction yielded less neuritic plaque tau. TREM2 appears in references cited for possible microglial involvement, not as a tested cause of enhanced tau propagation (page numbers unavailable). (LLM, conf=0.88)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured
  • The microenvironment in Aβ plaques plays a crucial role in Aβ-mediated neuroinflammation and tau pathogenesis in AD mouse models.

    “Moreover, the microenvironment in Aβ plaques plays a crucial role in Aβ-mediated neuroinflammation and tau pathogenesis in AD mouse models [34, 53, 106].”

    From Enhanced microglial dynamics and a paucity of tau seeding in the amyloid plaque microenvironment contribute to cognitive resilience in Alzheimer’s disease (2024) · cites this paper as [34]

    The Discussion reports that Aβ plaques create an environment that facilitates seeded tau pathology in mouse models. It does not establish that this plaque microenvironment plays a crucial role in Aβ-mediated neuroinflammation; it mentions plaque-associated microglia only as a possible contributor to the link between plaques and tau pathology. Page numbers are unavailable in our copy. (LLM, conf=0.87)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured
  • This tau propagation could occur through axonal transmission to the neuronal soma and dendrites, ultimately leading to NFT formation.

    “This tau propagation could occur through axonal transmission to the neuronal soma and dendrites, ultimately leading to NFT formation [34].”

    From Enhanced microglial dynamics and a paucity of tau seeding in the amyloid plaque microenvironment contribute to cognitive resilience in Alzheimer’s disease (2024) · cites this paper as [34]

    The Results section proposes that tau induced in dystrophic axons is transported retrogradely to neuronal somas, where it seeds NFT formation; the Discussion likewise suggests that neuritic-plaque tau may trigger NFTs in connected somas. Our copy does not specify transmission to dendrites, so that part of the claim is unsupported. No page number is available in the indexed passages. (LLM, conf=0.85)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

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Authors
He, Z., Guo, J. L., McBride, J. D., Narasimhan, S., Kim, H., Changolkar, L., Zhang, B., Gathagan, R. J., Yue, C., Dengler, C., Stieber, A., Nitla, M., Coulter, D. A., Abel, T., Brunden, K. R., Trojanowski, J. Q., & Lee, V. M.-Y.
Affiliations
  • University of Pennsylvania (US)
  • Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (US)
  • University of Iowa (US)
Corresponding author
Lee, Virginia M-Y
Venue
Nature Medicine
Published
2017-12-04
Volume
24
Issue
1
Pages
29-38
ISSN
  • 1078-8956 (ISSN-L)
  • 1546-170X
OpenAlex
W2772451653
Cited by
645
References
41
Citations by year
2026: 44 · 2025: 67 · 2024: 100 · 2023: 71 · 2022: 91 · 2021: 99 · 2020: 87 · 2019: 49 · 2018: 36 · 2013: 1
FWCI
34.82
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Nature Medicine (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (acceptedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
Funders
  • National Institute on Aging (P01AG017628, P30AG010124, P01AG017586)
  • Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (U54HD086984)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Physiology › Alzheimer's disease research and treatments
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Dementia and Cognitive Impairment Research
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Neurology › Neuroinflammation and Neurodegeneration Mechanisms
Keywords
Alzheimer's disease, amyloid plaques, tau pathology, tau seeding, neurofibrillary tangles, neuropil threads, dystrophic neurites, tau aggregation, transgenic mouse model
MeSH terms
Alzheimer Disease, Animals, Axons, Hippocampus, Humans, Amyloid beta-Peptides, Neurites, Neurofibrillary Tangles, tau Proteins, Mice

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