Cited by 595Alzheimer's disease research and treatmentsNeuroinflammation and Neurodegeneration MechanismsNeurological Disease Mechanisms and Treatments

Reactive microglia drive tau pathology and contribute to the spreading of pathological tau in the brain

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Maphis, Nicole, Xu, Guixiang, Kokiko-Cochran, Olga N., Jiang, Shanya, Cardona, Astrid, Ransohoff, Richard M., Lamb, Bruce T., Bhaskar, Kiran·2015·Brain

Abstract

Pathological aggregation of tau is a hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease and related tauopathies. We have previously shown that the deficiency of the microglial fractalkine receptor (CX3CR1) led to the acceleration of tau pathology and memory impairment in an hTau mouse model of tauopathy. Here, we show that microglia drive tau pathology in a cell-autonomous manner. First, tau hyperphosphorylation and aggregation occur as early as 2 months of age in hTauCx3cr1−/− mice. Second, CD45+ microglial activation correlates with the spatial memory deficit and spread of tau pathology in the anatomically connected regions of the hippocampus. Third, adoptive transfer of purified microglia derived from hTauCx3cr1−/− mice induces tau hyperphosphorylation within the brains of non-transgenic recipient mice. Finally, inclusion of interleukin 1 receptor antagonist (Kineret®) in the adoptive transfer inoculum significantly reduces microglia-induced tau pathology. Together, our results suggest that reactive microglia are sufficient to drive tau pathology and correlate with the spread of pathological tau in the brain. Neuroinflammation accelerates tau pathology, but the role played by microglia is uncertain. Maphis et al. provide direct evidence that reactive microglia are sufficient to drive hyperphosphorylation and aggregation of tau protein in a cell-autonomous manner, and show that microglial activation correlates with the spread of tau pathology in mice.

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Crossref · 10.1093/brain/awv081

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  • Microglia activation precedes tau aggregation and promotes tau hyperphosphorylation, subsequently leading to formation of NFTs.

    “since activation of microglia precedes tau aggregation41 and promotes tau hyperphosphorylation which subsequently leads to the formation of NFTs.42”

    From Role of neuroinflammation in neurodegeneration development (2023) · cites this paper as [42]

    The Introduction reports that microglial activation precedes tau pathology in a P301S mouse model, and the Results show that reactive microglia induce tau hyperphosphorylation and early aggregation. The Results describe pre-tangle aggregates but do not establish that the induced hyperphosphorylation subsequently led to mature neurofibrillary tangles. (LLM, conf=0.83)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured
  • Cytokines released by microglia trigger specific intraneuronal signaling that causes tau seeding and hyperphosphorylation.

    “cytokines released by microglia trigger specific intraneuronal signaling that causes tau seeding and hyperphosphorylation [37,38].”

    From TREM2-Deficient Microglia Attenuate Tau Spreading In Vivo (2023) · cites this paper as [38]

    The Discussion (page unavailable) suggests that IL1B from activated microglia drives tau pathology and identifies neuronal IL-1R–p38 MAPK signaling. The Results (page unavailable) show microglia-induced tau hyperphosphorylation that is reduced by blocking IL-1 signaling. The paper reports early tau aggregation and possible spread, but does not establish that this cytokine-driven signaling causes tau seeding. (LLM, conf=0.84)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured
  • Microglial activation induces tau hyperphosphorylation and cognitive impairment via activation of p38 MAPK in the hTau mouse model of tauopathy deficient for microglial fractalkine receptor CX3CR1.

    “We have demonstrated recently that activated microglia induced tau hyperphosphorylation via activation of the p38α MAPK signaling pathway in the hTau mouse model of tauopathy [22, 23].”

    From Selective suppression of the α isoform of p38 MAPK rescues late-stage tau pathology (2016) · cites this paper as [23]

    The Introduction reports that CX3CR1 deficiency in hTau mice increased microglial activation, accelerated tau pathology, and impaired working memory; it says mechanistic studies suggested involvement of IL-1R–p38 MAPK signaling. The Results also report that blocking IL-1 signaling reduced microglia-induced tau hyperphosphorylation alongside reduced p38 MAPK activation. The paper does not establish the cited sentence’s p38α-specific mechanism or show that cognitive impairment occurs via that pathway. (LLM, conf=0.84)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured
  • Adoptive transfer of reactive microglia from hTau-Cx3cr1 -/- mice led to induction of tau hyperphosphorylation and aggregation within the brains of recipient mice, which was also mediated via the IL-1β-p38α MAPK signaling pathway.

    “In a recent study, we demonstrated that adoptive transfer of reactive microglia from hTau-Cx3cr1 –/– mice led to induction of tau hyperphosphorylation and aggregation within the brains of recipient mice, which was also mediated via the IL-1β–p38α MAPK signaling pathway [23].”

    From Selective suppression of the α isoform of p38 MAPK rescues late-stage tau pathology (2016) · cites this paper as [23]

    The Discussion reports that transferred hTauCx3cr1−/− microglia induced tau phosphorylation and ‘pre-tangle-type’ aggregation in recipient brains. The Results show that an IL-1 receptor antagonist reduced tau hyperphosphorylation and p38 MAPK activation, supporting the proposed pathway. The paper does not identify the p38α isoform specifically or establish that this pathway mediates the aggregation finding. (LLM, conf=0.85)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured
  • CX3CR1 deficiency impairs microglia-mediated tau internalization in vitro and promotes accumulation of hyperphosphorylated tau in vivo.

    “CX3CR1 deficiency impairs microglia-mediated tau internalization in vitro, and promotes the accumulation of hyperphosphorylated tau in vivo [263, 429].”

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Authors
Maphis, N., Xu, G., Kokiko-Cochran, O. N., Jiang, S., Cardona, A., Ransohoff, R. M., Lamb, B. T., & Bhaskar, K.
Affiliations
  • University of New Mexico (US)
  • Cleveland Clinic (US)
  • The University of Texas at San Antonio (US)
  • Biogen (United States) (US)
Venue
Brain
Published
2015-03-31
Volume
138
Issue
6
Pages
1738-1755
ISSN
  • 0006-8950 (ISSN-L)
  • 1460-2156
OpenAlex
W2088685810
Cited by
595
References
78
Citations by year
2026: 51 · 2025: 59 · 2024: 80 · 2023: 55 · 2022: 73 · 2021: 59 · 2020: 48 · 2019: 50 · 2018: 50 · 2017: 36 · 2016: 24 · 2015: 10
FWCI
29.48
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Brain (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Funders
  • National Institutes of Health (UL1TR000439)
  • National Institute on Aging (R01AG023012, AG023012)
  • National Institute of General Medical Sciences (SC1GM095426, GM095426-02)
  • National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (RF1NS083704, R21NS077089, NS074804, R01NS083704, R01NS074804)
  • National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Physiology › Alzheimer's disease research and treatments
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Neurology › Neuroinflammation and Neurodegeneration Mechanisms
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Neurology › Neurological Disease Mechanisms and Treatments
Keywords
reactive microglia, tau pathology, tau hyperphosphorylation, tau aggregation, Alzheimer's disease, tauopathy, CX3CR1, microglial activation, neuroinflammation, tau propagation, spatial memory impairment, hippocampus, adoptive transfer, interleukin-1 receptor antagonist
MeSH terms
CX3C Chemokine Receptor 1, Animals, Brain, Hippocampus, Humans, Memory Disorders, Phosphorylation, tau Proteins, Microglia, Mice, Knockout, Receptors, Chemokine, Tauopathies, Mice, Interleukin 1 Receptor Antagonist Protein, Primary Cell Culture, Protein Aggregates

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