Cited by 118Alzheimer's disease research and treatmentsDementia and Cognitive Impairment ResearchNeuroinflammation and Neurodegeneration Mechanisms

ApoE4 induces Aβ42, tau, and neuronal pathology in the hippocampus of young targeted replacement apoE4 mice

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Liraz, Ori, Boehm-Cagan, Anat, Michaelson, Daniel M·2013·Molecular Neurodegeneration

Abstract

Background: Recent findings suggest that the pathological effects of apoE4, the most prevalent genetic risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease (AD), start many years before the onset of the disease and are already detectable at a young age. In the present study we investigated the extent to which such pathological and cognitive impairments also occur in young apoE4 mice. Results: This study revealed that the levels of the presynaptic glutamatergic vesicular transporter, VGlut, in the CA3, CA1, and DG hippocampal subfields were lower in hippocampal neurons of young (4-month-old) apoE4-targeted replacement mice than in those of the apoE3 mice. In contrast, the corresponding inhibitory GABAergic nerve terminals and perikarya were not affected by apoE4. This synaptic effect was associated with hyperphosphorylation of tau in these neurons. In addition, apoE4 increased the accumulation of neuronal Aβ42 and induced mitochondrial changes, both of which were specifically pronounced in CA3 neurons. Spatial navigation behavioral studies revealed that these hippocampal pathological effects of apoE4 are associated with corresponding behavioral impairments. Time-course studies revealed that the effects of apoE4 on tau hyperphosphorylation and the mitochondria were already apparent at the age of 1 month and that the apoE4-driven accumulation of neuronal Aβ and reduced VGlut levels evolve later and are apparent at the age of 2–4 months. Furthermore, the levels of tau phosphorylation decrease in apoE3 mice and increase in apoE4 mice between 1 and 4 months, whereas the levels of Aβ42 decrease in apoE3 mice and are not affected in apoE4 mice over the same time period. Conclusions: These findings show that apoE4 stimulates the accumulation of Aβ42 and hyperphosphorylated tau and reduces the levels of VGlut in hippocampal neurons of young apoE4-targeted replacement mice and that these neurochemical effects are associated with cognitive impairments. This model is not associated with hypothesis-driven mechanistic manipulations and is thus most suitable for unbiased studies of the mechanisms underlying the pathological effects of apoE4.

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  • Previous studies have reported LTP deficits in APOE4-carrying mice compared to APOE3-carrying mice, in addition to morphological alterations in CA1 hippocampal neurons such as shortened dendritic length, reduced spine density, decreased levels of the presynaptic glutamatergic transporter vGLUT and GABAergic interneuron loss.

    “Previous studies have reported LTP deficits in APOE4-carrying mice compared to APOE3-carrying mice, in addition to morphological alterations in CA1 hippocampal neurons such as shortened dendritic length, reduced spine density, decreased levels of the presynaptic glutamatergic transporter vGLUT and GABAergic interneuron loss [79–81].”

    From Analysis of early effects of human APOE isoforms on Alzheimer’s disease and type III hyperlipoproteinemia pathways using knock-in rat models with humanized APP and APOE (2024) · cites this paper as [80]

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  • Both the receptor-binding and lipid-binding regions are critical for ApoE4 fragment-related neurotoxicity and mitochondrial impairment, rather than full-length protein.

    “Both regions are thought to be critical for ApoE4 fragment-related neurotoxicity and mitochondrial impairment, rather than full-length protein [29,31].”

    From Apoe4 and Alzheimer’s Disease Pathogenesis—Mitochondrial Deregulation and Targeted Therapeutic Strategies (2023) · cites this paper as [31]

    The Introduction (page unavailable) associates apoE4 with mitochondrial pathology, and the Results (page unavailable) report altered mitochondrial markers in apoE4 mice. But the paper does not establish that both receptor-binding and lipid-binding regions are critical, or that fragments rather than full-length apoE4 cause neurotoxicity and mitochondrial impairment; the Discussion says the mechanism of the observed effects is unknown. (LLM, conf=0.84)

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  • ApoE4 promotes the accumulation of P-tau especially in CA3 hippocampal neurons of ApoE4-TR mice, accompanied by cognitive deficits.

    “previous studies revealed that ApoE4 promotes the accumulation of P-tau especially in CA3 hippocampal neurons of ApoE4-TR mice, which was accompanied by cognitive deficits [31]”

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  1. Michaelson DM Ishai L Ori L Anat B Alex N Counteracting the pathological effects of apoE4 in vivo with anti apoE4 mAbs ApoE, ApoE Receptors & Neurodegeneration Symposium; Mayo Clinic Jacksonville Florida 201223677929

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Authors
Liraz, O., Boehm-Cagan, A., & Michaelson, D. M.
Affiliations
Tel Aviv University (IL)
Corresponding author
Michaelson, Daniel M
Venue
Molecular Neurodegeneration
Published
2013-05-17
Volume
8
Issue
1
Pages
16-16
ISSN
1750-1326 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W2096068616
Cited by
118
References
103
Citations by year
2026: 7 · 2025: 14 · 2024: 11 · 2023: 6 · 2022: 5 · 2021: 10 · 2020: 7 · 2019: 12 · 2018: 7 · 2017: 10 · 2016: 9 · 2015: 7 · 2014: 11 · 2013: 2
FWCI
6.73
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
cc-by
Locations
  • Molecular Neurodegeneration (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Funders
European Commission
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
APOE ε4, Alzheimer's disease, amyloid-beta 42, tau hyperphosphorylation, vesicular glutamate transporter, glutamatergic neurotransmission, hippocampus, CA3 neurons, mitochondrial dysfunction, GABAergic synapses, APOE3, targeted replacement mice
MeSH terms
Aging, Alzheimer Disease, Animals, Behavior, Animal, Cognition Disorders, Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay, Fluorescent Antibody Technique, Hippocampus, Humans, Immunohistochemistry, Mice, Transgenic, Neurons, Phosphorylation, Immunoblotting, Amyloid beta-Peptides, tau Proteins, Microscopy, Confocal, Genetic Predisposition to Disease, Vesicular Glutamate Transport Proteins, Mice, Apolipoprotein E4

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