Bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells contribute to the reduction of amyloid-β deposits and the improvement of synaptic transmission in a mouse model of pre-dementia Alzheimer's disease

Curr Alzheimer Res. 2013 Jun;10(5):524-31.

Abstract

The remarkable potentiality of bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (BM-MSCs) after transplantation to models of neurological disease and injury has been described. We have previously published data confirming the influence of BM-MSCs on β-amyloid (Aβ) deposition in an Alzheimer's disease (AD) mouse model. However, therapeutic approaches in neurological diseases such as AD, including those for BM-MSCs, are increasingly centered on the potential for prophylactic therapy in pro-dromal states where the underlying cause of the disease is apparent but functional deficits are not. In order to investigate whether BM-MSCs could have a beneficial effect in high-risk pre-dementia AD individuals, we treated young AD mice, at an age at which they display neuropathological, but not cognitive features of AD. Following a single intra-cerebral injection of BM-MSCs, interestingly, we found a significant decrease in the cerebral Aβ deposition compared with controls treated with PBS that was sustained up to 2 months post-injection. Expression of dynamin 1 and Synapsin 1, key pre-synaptic proteins associated with synaptic transmission, which are typically decreased in brains of AD patients, were considerably enhanced in the brains of AD mice treated with BM-MSCs and this response was sustained beyond 2 months. These data demonstrate that BM-MSCs produce an acute reduction in Aβ deposits and facilitate changes in key proteins required for synaptic transmission. These findings suggest that BM-MSC transplantation warrants further investigation as a potential therapy for early intervention in pro-dromal AD.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Age Factors
  • Alzheimer Disease / genetics
  • Alzheimer Disease / metabolism*
  • Alzheimer Disease / surgery*
  • Amyloid beta-Peptides / metabolism*
  • Amyloid beta-Protein Precursor / genetics
  • Animals
  • Brain / metabolism
  • Disease Models, Animal
  • Female
  • Gene Expression Regulation / physiology
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Maze Learning
  • Mesenchymal Stem Cell Transplantation / methods*
  • Mesenchymal Stem Cells
  • Mice
  • Mice, Inbred C57BL
  • Mice, Transgenic
  • Mutation / genetics
  • Myelin Basic Protein / metabolism
  • Nerve Tissue Proteins / genetics
  • Nerve Tissue Proteins / metabolism
  • Receptors, Glutamate / genetics
  • Receptors, Glutamate / metabolism
  • Synaptic Transmission / physiology*

Substances

  • Amyloid beta-Peptides
  • Amyloid beta-Protein Precursor
  • Myelin Basic Protein
  • Nerve Tissue Proteins
  • Receptors, Glutamate