Cited by 388Alzheimer's disease research and treatmentsDementia and Cognitive Impairment ResearchNeuroinflammation and Neurodegeneration Mechanisms

Dissecting phenotypic traits linked to human resilience to Alzheimer’s pathology

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Perez-Nievas, Beatriz G., Stein, Thor D., Tai, Hwan-Ching, Dols-Icardo, Oriol, Scotton, Thomas C., Barroeta-Espar, Isabel, Fernandez-Carballo, Leticia, de Munain, Estibaliz Lopez +12 more·2013·Brain

Abstract

Clinico-pathological correlation studies and positron emission tomography amyloid imaging studies have shown that some individuals can tolerate substantial amounts of Alzheimer's pathology in their brains without experiencing dementia. Few details are known about the neuropathological phenotype of these unique cases that might prove relevant to understanding human resilience to Alzheimer's pathology. We conducted detailed quantitative histopathological and biochemical assessments on brains from non-demented individuals before death whose brains were free of substantial Alzheimer's pathology, non-demented individuals before death but whose post-mortem examination demonstrated significant amounts of Alzheimer's changes ('mismatches'), and demented Alzheimer's cases. Quantification of amyloid-β plaque burden, stereologically-based counts of neurofibrillary tangles, neurons and reactive glia, and morphological analyses of axons were performed in the multimodal association cortex lining the superior temporal sulcus. Levels of synaptic integrity markers, and soluble monomeric and multimeric amyloid-β and tau species were measured. Our results indicate that some individuals can accumulate equivalent loads of amyloid-β plaques and tangles to those found in demented Alzheimer's cases without experiencing dementia. Analyses revealed four main phenotypic differences among these two groups: (i) mismatches had striking preservation of neuron numbers, synaptic markers and axonal geometry compared to demented cases; (ii) demented cases had significantly higher burdens of fibrillar thioflavin-S-positive plaques and of oligomeric amyloid-β deposits reactive to conformer-specific antibody NAB61 than mismatches; (iii) strong and selective accumulation of hyperphosphorylated soluble tau multimers into the synaptic compartment was noted in demented cases compared with controls but not in mismatches; and (iv) the robust glial activation accompanying amyloid-β and tau pathologies in demented cases was remarkably reduced in mismatches. Further biochemical measurements of soluble amyloid-β species-monomers, dimers and higher molecular weight oligomers-in total brain homogenates and synaptoneurosomal preparations failed to demonstrate significant differences between mismatches and demented cases. Together, these data suggest that amyloid-β plaques and tangles do not inevitably result in neural system derangement and dementia in all individuals. We identified distinct phenotypic characteristics in the profile of brain fibrillar and soluble amyloid-β and tau accrual and in the glial response that discriminated demented and non-demented individuals with high loads of Alzheimer's pathology. Amyloid-β deposition in the form of fibrillar plaques and intimately related oligomeric amyloid-β assemblies, hyperphosphorylated soluble tau species localized in synapses, and glial activation emerged in this series as likely mediators of neurotoxicity and altered cognition, providing further insight into factors and pathways potentially involved in human susceptibility or resilience to Alzheimer's pathological changes.

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Authors
Perez-Nievas, B. G., Stein, T. D., Tai, H.-C., Dols-Icardo, O., Scotton, T. C., Barroeta-Espar, I., Fernandez-Carballo, L., de Munain, E. L., Perez, J., Marquie, M., Serrano-Pozo, A., Frosch, M. P., Lowe, V., Parisi, J. E., Petersen, R. C., Ikonomovic, M. D., López, O. L., Klunk, W., Hyman, B. T., & Gómez-Isla, T.
Affiliations
  • Harvard University (US)
  • Mayo Clinic (US)
  • University of Pittsburgh (US)
Venue
Brain
Published
2013-07-03
Volume
136
Issue
8
Pages
2510-2526
ISSN
  • 0006-8950 (ISSN-L)
  • 1460-2156
OpenAlex
W1978991736
Cited by
387
References
67
Citations by year
2026: 30 · 2025: 27 · 2024: 28 · 2023: 38 · 2022: 34 · 2021: 46 · 2020: 37 · 2019: 29 · 2018: 36 · 2017: 18 · 2016: 18 · 2015: 22 · 2014: 20 · 2013: 3
FWCI
14.58
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Brain (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Research Portal (King's College London) (submittedVersion)
Funders
  • U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (I01 CX001038)
  • National Institutes of Health
  • National Institute on Aging (AG-005133, R01AG043511, P50AG005133, U01AG016976, P50AG005134, P30AG062421, P50AG016574)
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, neurofibrillary tangles, tau hyperphosphorylation, soluble amyloid-beta oligomers, synaptic integrity, axon morphology, glial activation, superior temporal sulcus, association cortex, dementia
MeSH terms
Aged, Aged, 80 and over, Alzheimer Disease, Brain, Cognition, Humans, Neuroglia, Neurons, Phenotype, Neurofibrillary Tangles, tau Proteins, Resilience, Psychological, Plaque, Amyloid

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