Synaptotoxic Amyloid-β Oligomers: A Molecular Basis for the Cause, Diagnosis, and Treatment of Alzheimer's Disease?
Authors: Klein, William L.
Article Type: Review Article
Abstract: The oligomer hypothesis for Alzheimer's disease (AD) was introduced in 1998. It was based on evidence that oligomers could exist free of amyloid fibrils, that fibril-free oligomer solutions rapidly inhibited long term potentiation, and that oligomers ultimately caused a highly selective nerve cell death. Fibrils no longer were the only toxins made by amyloid-β (Aβ), and likely not the most important ones. Oligomers provided a new basis for instigating AD. Since introduction of the hypothesis, more than 1,500 articles on oligomers have been published. Articles for this review were selected for contributions to oligomer theory at three different levels. The …first set demonstrated new aspects of oligomer pathobiology in cell models, showing that exposure of neurons to oligomers is sufficient to cause key features of AD neuropathology. The second set confirmed the relationship between oligomers and salient AD neuropathology in animal models, consistent with other in vivo studies that overall have substantiated cell-based discoveries. The third set developed strategies for therapeutic targeting of oligomers, introducing both small molecule and antibody-based approaches. These and related findings from many groups have helped establish oligomers as central to the mechanism of AD pathogenesis. Comprising a ligand-based attack on specific synapses, the action of toxic oligomers gives a molecular basis to account for key features of AD neuropathology and to explain why early disease targets memory. Although there still is no effective treatment for AD, insights over the past five years raise hopes that new approaches targeting Aβ oligomers could finally bring disease-modifying therapeutics. Show more
Keywords: Alzheimer's disease pathogenesis, amyloid-β oligomers, animal models, biomarkers, cellular mechanisms, vaccines
DOI: 10.3233/JAD-2012-129039
Citation: Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, vol. 33, no. s1, pp. S49-S65, 2013
Amyloid-β and Tau Pathology of Alzheimer's Disease Induced by Diabetes in a Rabbit Animal Model
Authors: Bitel, Claudine L. | Kasinathan, Chinnaswamy | Kaswala, Rajesh H. | Klein, William L. | Frederikse, Peter H.
Article Type: Research Article
Abstract: Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the major age-dependent disease of the brain, but what instigates late-onset AD is not yet clear. Epidemiological, animal model, and cell biology findings suggest links between AD and diabetes. Although AD pathology is accelerated by diabetes in mice engineered to accumulate human-sequence amyloid-β (Aβ) peptides, they do not adequately model non-inherited AD. We investigated AD-type pathology induced solely by diabetes in genetically unmodified rabbits which generate human-sequence Aβ peptides. After 15 weeks, alloxan-treated diabetic rabbits with expected high blood glucose showed ~5-fold increase in Aβ40 /Aβ42 in cortex and hippocampus, and significantly, generated Aβ-derived assemblies found …in human AD. Deposits of these putative pathogenic toxins were detected by Aβ/Aβ oligomer antibodies in brain parenchyma and surrounding vasculature, also co-localizing with markedly elevated levels of RAGE. Soluble brain extracts showed diabetes-induced buildup of Aβ oligomers on dot-blots. Phospho-tau also was clearly elevated, overlapping with βIII-tubulin along neuronal tracts. Indications of retina involvement in AD led to examination of AD-type pathology in diabetic retinas and showed Aβ accumulation in ganglion and inner nuclear cell layers using Aβ/oligomer antibodies, and RAGE again was elevated. Our study identifies emergence of AD pathology in brain and retina as a major consequence of diabetes; implicating dysfunctional insulin signaling in late-onset AD, and a potential relationship between Aβ-derived neurotoxins and retinal degeneration in aging and diabetes, as well as AD. AD-type pathology demonstrated in genetically unmodified rabbits calls attention to the considerable potential of the model for investigation of AD pathogenesis, diagnostics, and therapeutics. Show more
Keywords: Alzheimer's disease, amyloid-β, brain, diabetes, oligomers, retina
DOI: 10.3233/JAD-2012-120571
Citation: Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, vol. 32, no. 2, pp. 291-305, 2012
The Amyloid-β Oligomer Hypothesis: Beginning of the Third Decade
Authors: Cline, Erika N. | Bicca, Maíra Assunção | Viola, Kirsten L. | Klein, William L.
Article Type: Review Article
Abstract: The amyloid-β oligomer (AβO) hypothesis was introduced in 1998. It proposed that the brain damage leading to Alzheimer’s disease (AD) was instigated by soluble, ligand-like AβOs. This hypothesis was based on the discovery that fibril-free synthetic preparations of AβOs were potent CNS neurotoxins that rapidly inhibited long-term potentiation and, with time, caused selective nerve cell death (Lambert et al., 1998). The mechanism was attributed to disrupted signaling involving the tyrosine-protein kinase Fyn, mediated by an unknown toxin receptor. Over 4,000 articles concerning AβOs have been published since then, including more than 400 reviews. AβOs have been shown to accumulate in …an AD-dependent manner in human and animal model brain tissue and, experimentally, to impair learning and memory and instigate major facets of AD neuropathology, including tau pathology, synapse deterioration and loss, inflammation, and oxidative damage. As reviewed by Hayden and Teplow in 2013, the AβO hypothesis “has all but supplanted the amyloid cascade.” Despite the emerging understanding of the role played by AβOs in AD pathogenesis, AβOs have not yet received the clinical attention given to amyloid plaques, which have been at the core of major attempts at therapeutics and diagnostics but are no longer regarded as the most pathogenic form of Aβ. However, if the momentum of AβO research continues, particularly efforts to elucidate key aspects of structure, a clear path to a successful disease modifying therapy can be envisioned. Ensuring that lessons learned from recent, late-stage clinical failures are applied appropriately throughout therapeutic development will further enable the likelihood of a successful therapy in the near-term. Show more
Keywords: Alzheimer’s disease, amyloid-β peptide, diagnostics, etiology, model systems, oligomers, prions, receptors, structure-function, tau, therapeutics
DOI: 10.3233/JAD-179941
Citation: Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, vol. 64, no. s1, pp. S567-S610, 2018
Stimulation of Neurogenesis and Synaptogenesis by Bilobalide and Quercetin via Common Final Pathway in Hippocampal Neurons
Authors: Tchantchou, Flaubert | Lacor, Pascale N. | Cao, Zhiming | Lao, Lixing | Hou, Yan | Cui, Changhai | Klein, William L. | Luo, Yuan
Article Type: Research Article
Abstract: Loss of synapses has been correlated with dementia in Alzheimer's disease (AD) as an early event during the disease progression. Hence, synaptogenesis and neurogenesis in adulthood could serve as a therapeutic target for the prevention and treatment of AD. Recently, we have demonstrated enhanced hippocampal neurogenesis by oral administration of Ginkgo biloba extract (EGb 761) to a mouse model of AD. This study aims to identify the constituents that contribute to EGb 761-induced neurogenesis. Among the constituents tested, bilobalide and quercetin significantly increased cell proliferation in the hippocampal neurons in a dose-dependent manner. Bilobalide and quercetin also enhanced phosphorylation of …cyclic-AMP Response Element Binding Protein (CREB) in these cells, and elevated the levels of pCREB and, brain-derived neurotrophic factor in mice brain. Immunofluorescence staining of synaptic markers shows remarkable dendritic processes in hippocampal neurons treated with either quercetin or bilobalide. Furthermore, both constituents restored amyloid-β oligomers (also known as ADDL)-induced synaptic loss and phosphorylation of CREB. The present findings suggest that enhanced neurogenesis and synaptogenesis by bilobalide and quercetin may share a common final signaling pathway mediated by phosphorylation of CREB. Despite a recent report showing that EGb 761 was insufficient in prevent dementia, its constituents still warrant future investigation. Show more
Keywords: Amyloid-beta derived diffusible ligands (ADDL), bilobalide, CREB, neurogenesis, quercetin, synaptogenesis
DOI: 10.3233/JAD-2009-1189
Citation: Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, vol. 18, no. 4, pp. 787-798, 2009
Brain Transit and Ameliorative Effects of Intranasally Delivered Anti-Amyloid-β Oligomer Antibody in 5XFAD Mice
Authors: Xiao, Chun | Davis, Francesca J. | Chauhan, Balwantsinh C. | Viola, Kirsten L. | Lacor, Pascale N. | Velasco, Pauline T. | Klein, William L. | Chauhan, Neelima B.
Article Type: Research Article
Abstract: Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a global health crisis with limited treatment options. Despite major advances in neurotherapeutics, poor brain penetration due to the blood-brain barrier continues to pose a big challenge in overcoming the access of therapeutics to the central nervous system. In that regard, the non-invasive intranasal route of brain targeting is gaining considerable attention. The nasal mucosa offers a large surface area, rapid absorption, and avoidance of first-pass metabolism increasing drug bioavailability with less systemic side effects. Intranasal delivery is known to utilize olfactory, rostral migratory stream, and trigeminal routes to reach the brain. This investigation confirmed that …intranasal delivery of oligomeric amyloid-β antibody (NU4) utilized all three routes to enter the brain with a resident time of 96 hours post single bolus intranasal administration, and showed evidence of perikaryal and parenchymal uptake of NU4 in 5XFAD mouse brain, confirming the intranasal route as a non-invasive and efficient way of delivering therapeutics to the brain. In addition, this study demonstrated that intranasal delivery of NU4 antibody lowered cerebral amyloid-β and improved spatial learning in 5XFAD mice. Show more
Keywords: Alzheimer's immunotherapy, amyloid-β oligomer antibody, brain transit, cerebral amyloid-β immunocytochemistry, intranasal delivery, olfactory pathway, rostral migratory stream pathway, spatial acquisition learning, trigeminal pathway
DOI: 10.3233/JAD-122419
Citation: Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, vol. 35, no. 4, pp. 777-788, 2013