Reduced Reelin expression accelerates amyloid-beta plaque formation and tau pathology in transgenic Alzheimer's disease mice

J Neurosci. 2010 Jul 7;30(27):9228-40. doi: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0418-10.2010.

Abstract

In addition to the fundamental role of the extracellular glycoprotein Reelin in neuronal development and adult synaptic plasticity, alterations in Reelin-mediated signaling have been suggested to contribute to neuronal dysfunction associated with Alzheimer's disease (AD). In vitro data revealed a biochemical link between Reelin-mediated signaling, Tau phosphorylation, and amyloid precursor protein (APP) processing. To directly address the role of Reelin in amyloid-beta plaque and Tau pathology in vivo, we crossed heterozygous Reelin knock-out mice (reeler) with transgenic AD mice to investigate the temporal and spatial AD-like neuropathology. We demonstrate that a reduction in Reelin expression results in enhanced amyloidogenic APP processing, as indicated by the precocious production of amyloid-beta peptides, the significant increase in number and size of amyloid-beta plaques, as well as age-related aggravation of plaque pathology in double mutant compared with single AD mutant mice of both sexes. Numerous amyloid-beta plaques accumulate in the hippocampal formation and neocortex of double mutants, precisely in layers with strongest Reelin expression and highest accumulation of Reelin plaques in aged wild-type mice. Moreover, concentric accumulations of phosphorylated Tau-positive neurons around amyloid-beta plaques were evident in 15-month-old double versus single mutant mice. Silver stainings indicated the presence of neurofibrillary tangles, selectively associated with amyloid-beta plaques and dystrophic neurites in the entorhinal cortex and hippocampus. Our findings suggest that age-related Reelin aggregation and concomitant reduction in Reelin-mediated signaling play a proximal role in synaptic dysfunction associated with amyloid-beta deposition, sufficient to enhance Tau phosphorylation and tangle formation in the hippocampal formation in aged Reelin-deficient transgenic AD mice.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Age Factors
  • Alzheimer Disease* / genetics
  • Alzheimer Disease* / metabolism
  • Alzheimer Disease* / pathology
  • Amyloid beta-Peptides / metabolism*
  • Amyloid beta-Protein Precursor / genetics
  • Animals
  • Cell Adhesion Molecules, Neuronal / genetics
  • Cell Adhesion Molecules, Neuronal / metabolism*
  • Disease Models, Animal
  • Extracellular Matrix Proteins / genetics
  • Extracellular Matrix Proteins / metabolism*
  • Gene Expression Regulation / genetics*
  • Hippocampus / metabolism
  • Hippocampus / pathology
  • Humans
  • Mice
  • Mice, Inbred C57BL
  • Mice, Transgenic
  • Mutation / genetics
  • Nerve Tissue Proteins / genetics
  • Nerve Tissue Proteins / metabolism*
  • Neurofibrillary Tangles / pathology
  • Plaque, Amyloid / pathology*
  • Reelin Protein
  • Serine Endopeptidases / genetics
  • Serine Endopeptidases / metabolism*
  • alpha-Synuclein / metabolism
  • tau Proteins / metabolism*

Substances

  • Amyloid beta-Peptides
  • Amyloid beta-Protein Precursor
  • Cell Adhesion Molecules, Neuronal
  • Extracellular Matrix Proteins
  • Nerve Tissue Proteins
  • Reelin Protein
  • alpha-Synuclein
  • tau Proteins
  • RELN protein, human
  • Reln protein, mouse
  • Serine Endopeptidases