In:
The Journal of Neuroscience, Society for Neuroscience, Vol. 30, No. 7 ( 2010-02-17), p. 2636-2649
Kurzfassung:
Amyloid β (Aβ)-containing plaques are surrounded by dystrophic neurites in the Alzheimer's disease (AD) brain, but whether and how plaques induce these neuritic abnormalities remain unknown. We tested the hypothesis that soluble oligomeric assemblies of Aβ, which surround plaques, induce calcium-mediated secondary cascades that lead to dystrophic changes in local neurites. We show that soluble Aβ oligomers lead to activation of the calcium-dependent phosphatase calcineurin (CaN) (PP2B), which in turn activates the transcriptional factor nuclear factor of activated T cells (NFAT). Activation of these signaling pathways, even in the absence of Aβ, is sufficient to produce a virtual phenocopy of Aβ-induced dystrophic neurites, dendritic simplification, and dendritic spine loss in both neurons in culture and in the adult mouse brain. Importantly, the morphological deficits in the vicinity of Aβ deposits in a mouse model of AD are ameliorated by CaN inhibition, supporting the hypothesis that CaN–NFAT are aberrantly activated by Aβ and that CaN–NFAT activation is responsible for disruption of neuronal structure near plaques. In accord with this, we also detect increased levels of an active form of CaN and NFATc4 in the nuclear fraction from the cortex of patients with AD. Thus, Aβ appears to mediate the neurodegeneration of AD, at least in part, by activation of CaN and subsequent NFAT-mediated downstream cascades.
Materialart:
Online-Ressource
ISSN:
0270-6474
,
1529-2401
DOI:
10.1523/JNEUROSCI.4456-09.2010
Sprache:
Englisch
Verlag:
Society for Neuroscience
Publikationsdatum:
2010
ZDB Id:
1475274-8
SSG:
12
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