Transgenic mouse model for the formation of Hirano bodies

Accumulation of F-actin drives brain aging and limits healthspan in Drosophila

The actin cytoskeleton is a key determinant of cell and tissue homeostasis. However, tissue-specific roles for actin dynamics in aging, notably brain aging, are not understood. Here, we show that there is an age-related increase in filamentous actin (F-actin) in Drosophila brains, which is counteracted by prolongevity interventions. Critically, modulating F-actin levels in aging neurons prevents age-onset cognitive decline and extends organismal healthspan. Mechanistically, we show that autophagy, a recycling process required for neuronal homeostasis, is disabled upon actin dysregulation in the aged brain. Remarkably, disrupting actin polymerization in aged animals with cytoskeletal drugs restores brain autophagy to youthful levels and reverses cellular hallmarks of brain aging. Finally, reducing F-actin levels in aging neurons slows brain aging and promotes healthspan in an autophagy-dependent manner. Our data identify excess actin polymerization as a hallmark of brain aging, which can be targeted to reverse brain aging phenotypes and prolong healthspan.

Use of ocular biomarkers as a potential tool for early diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common neurodegenerative disease worldwide which unfortunately has no known effective cure to date. Despite many clinical trials indicating the effectiveness of preclinical treatment, a sensitive tool for screening of AD is yet to be developed. Due to multiple similarities between ocular and the brain tissue, the eye is being explored by researchers for this purpose, with utmost attention focused on the retinal tissue. Besides visual functional impairment, neuronal degeneration and apoptosis, retinal nerve fiber degeneration, increase in the cup-to-disc ratio, and retinal vascular thinning and tortuosity are the changes observed in the retinal tissue which are related to AD. Studies have shown that targeting these changes in the retina is an effective way of reducing the degeneration of retinal neuronal tissue. Similar mechanisms of neurodegeneration have been demonstrated in the brain and the eyes of AD patients. Multiple studies are underway to investigate the potential of diagnosing AD and detection of amyloid-β (Aβ) levels in the retinal tissue. Since the tissues in the anterior segment of the eye are more accessible for in vivo imaging and examination, they have more potential as screening biomarkers. This article provides a concise review of available literature on the ocular biomarkers in anterior and posterior segments of the eye including the cornea, aqueous humour (AH), crystalline lens, and retina in AD. This review will also highlight the newer technological tools available for the detection of potential biomarkers in the eye for early diagnosis of AD.

De novo actin polymerization is required for model Hirano body formation in Dictyostelium

Hirano bodies are eosinophilic, actin-rich inclusions found in autopsied brains in numerous neurodegenerative diseases. The mechanism of Hirano body formation is unknown. Mass spectrometry analysis was performed to identify proteins from partially purified model Hirano bodies from Dictyostelium This analysis identified proteins primarily belonging to ribosomes, proteasomes, mitochondria and cytoskeleton. Profilin, Arp/2/3 and WASH identified by mass spectrometry were found to colocalise with model Hirano bodies. Due to their roles in actin regulation, we selected these proteins for further investigation. Inhibition of the Arp2/3 complex by CK666 prevented formation of model Hirano bodies. Since Arp2/3 activation occurs via the WASH or WAVE complex, we next investigated how these proteins affect Hirano body formation. Whereas model Hirano bodies could form in WASH-deficient cells, they failed to form in cells lacking HSPC300, a member of the WAVE complex. We identified other proteins required for Hirano body formation that include profilin and VASP, an actin nucleation factor. In the case of VASP, both its G- and F-actin binding domains were required for model Hirano body formation. Collectively, our results indicate that de novo actin polymerization is required to form model Hirano bodies.

Visual and Ocular Manifestations of Alzheimer's Disease and Their Use as Biomarkers for Diagnosis and Progression

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common form of dementia affecting the growing aging population today, with prevalence expected to rise over the next 35 years. Clinically, patients exhibit a progressive decline in cognition, memory, and social functioning due to deposition of amyloid β (Aβ) protein and intracellular hyperphosphorylated tau protein. These pathological hallmarks of AD are measured either through neuroimaging, cerebrospinal fluid analysis, or diagnosed post-mortem. Importantly, neuropathological progression occurs in the eye as well as the brain, and multiple visual changes have been noted in both human and animal models of AD. The eye offers itself as a transparent medium to cerebral pathology and has thus potentiated the development of ocular biomarkers for AD. The use of non-invasive screening, such as retinal imaging and visual testing, may enable earlier diagnosis in the clinical setting, minimizing invasive and expensive investigations. It also potentially improves disease management and quality of life for AD patients, as an earlier diagnosis allows initiation of medication and treatment. In this review, we explore the evidence surrounding ocular changes in AD and consider the biomarkers currently in development for early diagnosis.

Hirano body expression impairs spatial working memory in a novel mouse model

Introduction

Hirano bodies are actin-rich intracellular inclusions found in the brains of patients with neurodegenerative conditions such as Alzheimer's disease or frontotemporal lobar degeneration-tau. While Hirano body ultrastructure and protein composition have been well studied, little is known about the physiological function of Hirano bodies in an animal model system.

Results

Utilizing a Cre/Lox system, we have generated a new mouse model which develops an age-dependent increase in the number of model Hirano bodies present in both the CA1 region of the hippocampus and frontal cortex. These mice develop normally and experience no overt neuron loss. Mice presenting model Hirano bodies have no abnormal anxiety or locomotor activity as measured by the open field test. However, mice with model Hirano bodies develop age-dependent impairments in spatial working memory performance assessed using a delayed win-shift task in an 8-arm radial maze. Synaptic transmission, short-term plasticity, and long-term plasticity was measured in the CA1 region from slices obtained from both the ventral and dorsal hippocampus in the same mice whose spatial working memory was assessed. Baseline synaptic responses, paired pulse stimulation and long-term potentiation measurements in the ventral hippocampus were indistinguishable from control mice. In contrast, in the dorsal hippocampus, synaptic transmission at higher stimulus intensities were suppressed in 3 month old mice with Hirano bodies as compared with control mice. In addition, long-term potentiation was enhanced in the dorsal hippocampus of 8 month old mice with Hirano bodies, concurrent with observed impairment of spatial working memory. Finally, an inflammatory response was observed at 8 months of age in mice with Hirano bodies as assessed by the presence of reactive astrocytes.

Conclusion

This study shows that the presence of model Hirano bodies initiates an inflammatory response, alters hippocampal synaptic responses, and impairs spatial working memory in an age-dependent manner. This suggests that Hirano bodies may promote disease progression. This new model mouse provides a tool to investigate how Hirano bodies interact with other pathologies associated with Alzheimer's disease. Hirano bodies likely play a complex and region specific role in the brain during neurodegenerative disease progression.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s40478-014-0131-9) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

A comparative study on the effect of high cholesterol diet on the hippocampal CA1 area of adult and aged rats

Dementia is one of the most important problems nowadays. Aging is associated with learning and memory impairments. Diet rich in cholesterol has been shown to be detrimental to cognitive performance. This work was carried out to compare the effect of high cholesterol diet on the hippocampus of adult and aged male albino rats. Twenty adult and twenty aged male rats were used in this study. According to age, the rats were randomly subdivided into balanced and high cholesterol diet fed groups. The diet was 15 g/rat/day for adult rats and 20 g/rat/day for aged rats for eight weeks. Serial coronal sections of hippocampus and blood samples were taken from each rat. For diet effect evaluation, Clinical, biochemical, histological, immunohistochemical, and morphometric assessments were done. In compare to a balanced diet fed rat, examination of Cornu Ammonis 1 (CA 1) area in the hippocampus of the high cholesterol diet adult rats showed degeneration, a significant decrease of the pyramidal cells, attenuation and/or thickening of small blood vessels, apparent increase of astrocytes and apparent decrease of Nissl's granules content. Moreover, the high cholesterol diet aged rats showed aggravation of senility changes of the hippocampus together with Alzheimer like pathological changes. In conclusion, the high cholesterol diet has a significant detrimental effect on the hippocampus and aging might pronounce this effect. So, we should direct our attention to limit cholesterol intake in our food to maintain a healthy life style for a successful aging.

Hirano bodies differentially modulate cell death induced by tau and the amyloid precursor protein intracellular domain

BACKGROUND

Hirano bodies are actin-rich paracrystalline inclusions found in brains of patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD), frontotemporal dementia (FTD), and in normal aged individuals. Although studies of post-mortem brain tissue provide clues of etiology, the physiological function of Hirano bodies remains unknown. A cell culture model was utilized to study the interactions of mutant tau proteins, model Hirano bodies, and GSK3β in human astrocytoma cells.

RESULTS

Most tau variants showed co-localization with model Hirano bodies. Cosedimentation assays revealed this interaction may be direct, as recombinant purified forms of tau are all capable of binding F-actin. Model Hirano bodies had no effect or enhanced cell death induced by tau in the absence of amyloid precursor protein intracellular domain (AICD). In the presence of AICD and tau, synergistic cell death was observed in most cases, and model Hirano bodies decreased this synergistic cell death, except for forms of tau that caused significant cell death in the presence of Hirano bodies only. A role for the kinase GSK3β is suggested by the finding that a dominant negative form of GSK3β reduces this synergistic cell death. A subset of Hirano bodies in brain tissue of both Alzheimer's disease and normal aged individuals was found to contain tau, with some Hirano bodies in Alzheimer's disease brains containing hyperphosphorylated tau.

CONCLUSION

The results demonstrate a complex interaction between tau and AICD involving activation of GSK3β in promoting cell death, and the ability of Hirano bodies to modulate this process.

Model Hirano bodies protect against tau-independent and tau-dependent cell death initiated by the amyloid precursor protein intracellular domain

The main pathological hallmarks of Alzheimer's disease are amyloid-beta plaques and neurofibrillary tangles, which are primarily composed of amyloid precursor protein (APP) and tau, respectively. These proteins and their role in the mechanism of neurodegeneration have been extensively studied. Hirano bodies are a frequently occurring pathology in Alzheimer's disease as well as other neurodegenerative diseases. However, the physiological role of Hirano bodies in neurodegenerative diseases has yet to be determined. We have established cell culture models to study the role of Hirano bodies in amyloid precursor protein and tau-induced cell death mechanisms. Exogenous expression of APP and either of its c-terminal fragments c31 or Amyloid Precursor Protein Intracellular Domain c58 (AICDc58) enhance cell death. The presence of tau is not required for this enhanced cell death. However, the addition of a hyperphosphorylated tau mimic 352PHPtau significantly increases cell death in the presence of both APP and c31 or AICDc58 alone. The mechanism of cell death induced by APP and its c-terminal fragments and tau was investigated. Fe65, Tip60, p53, and caspases play a role in tau-independent and tau-dependent cell death. In addition, apoptosis was determined to contribute to cell death. The presence of model Hirano bodies protected against cell death, indicating Hirano bodies may play a protective role in neurodegeneration.