THE EFFECT OF PICROTOXIN ON MOTOR ACTIVITY AND THE ELECTROENCEPHALOGRAM OF MICE

Inhibition of Polo-like kinase 2 ameliorates pathogenesis in Alzheimer's disease model mice

Alzheimer disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disorder characterized by pathological hallmarks of neurofibrillary tangles and amyloid plaques. The plaques are formed by aggregation and accumulation of amyloid β (Aβ), a cleavage fragment of amyloid precursor protein (APP). Enhanced neuronal activity and seizure events are frequently observed in AD, and elevated synaptic activity promotes Aβ production. However, the mechanisms that link synaptic hyperactivity to APP processing and AD pathogenesis are not well understood. We previously found that Polo-like kinase 2 (Plk2), a homeostatic repressor of neuronal overexcitation, promotes APP β-processing in vitro. Here, we report that Plk2 stimulates Aβ production in vivo, and that Plk2 levels are elevated in a spatiotemporally regulated manner in brains of AD mouse models and human AD patients. Genetic disruption of Plk2 kinase function reduces plaque deposits and activity-dependent Aβ production. Furthermore, pharmacological Plk2 inhibition hinders Aβ formation, synapse loss, and memory decline in an AD mouse model. Thus, Plk2 links synaptic overactivity to APP β-processing, Aβ production, and disease-relevant phenotypes in vivo, suggesting that Plk2 may be a potential target for AD therapeutics.

GABAA receptor antagonism ameliorates behavioral and synaptic impairments associated with MeCP2 overexpression

Methyl-CpG-binding protein 2 (MeCP2) is a ubiquitously expressed transcriptional regulator with functional importance in the central nervous system. Loss-of-function mutations in MECP2 results in the neurodevelopmental disorder, Rett syndrome, whereas increased expression levels are associated with the neurological disorder, MECP2 duplication syndrome. Previous characterization of a mouse line overexpressing Mecp2 demonstrated that this model recapitulated key behavioral features of MECP2 duplication syndrome with specific deficits in synaptic plasticity and neurotransmission. Alterations in excitation/inhibition balance have been suggested to underlie neurodevelopmental disorders with recent data suggesting that picrotoxin (PTX), a GABAA receptor antagonist, rescues certain behavioral and synaptic phenotypes in a mouse model of Down syndrome. We therefore examined whether a similar treatment regimen would impact the behavioral and synaptic phenotypes in a mouse model of MECP2 duplication syndrome. We report that chronic treatment with low doses of PTX ameliorates specific behavioral phenotypes, including motor coordination, episodic memory impairments, and synaptic plasticity deficits. These findings suggest that GABAA receptor antagonists may offer a possible therapeutic target for the treatment of MECP2 duplication syndrome.