Partial Inhibition of Mitochondrial Complex I Reduces Tau Pathology and Improves Energy Homeostasis and Synaptic Function in 3xTg-AD Male and Female Mice (original) (raw)
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Alzheimer's & Dementia, 2019
Background: Accumulation of hyperphosphorylated tau (pTau) protein is associated with synaptic dysfunction in Alzheimer's disease (AD). We previously demonstrated that neuroprotection in familial mouse models of AD could be achieved by targeting mitochondria complex I (MCI) and activating the adaptive stress response. Efficacy of this strategy on pTau-related pathology remained unknown. Objective: To investigate the effect of specific MCI inhibitor tricyclic pyrone compound CP2 on levels of human pTau, memory function, long term potentiation (LTP), and energy homeostasis in 18-month-old 3xTg-AD mice and explore the potential mechanisms. Methods: CP2 was administered to male and female 3xTg-AD mice from 3.5-18 months of age. Cognitive function was assessed using the Morris water maze. Glucose metabolism was measured in periphery using a glucose tolerance test and in the brain using fluorodeoxyglucose F18 positron-emission tomography (FDG-PET). LTP was evaluated using electrophysiology in the hippocampus. The expression of key proteins associated with neuroprotective mechanisms were assessed by western blotting. Results: Chronic CP2 treatment restored synaptic activity in female 3xTg-AD mice; cognitive function, levels of synaptic proteins, glucose metabolism, and energy homeostasis were improved in male and female 3xTg-AD mice. Significant reduction of human pTau in the brain was associated with increased activity of protein phosphatase of type 2A (PP2A), and reduced activity of cyclin-dependent kinase 5 (CDK5) and glycogen synthase kinase 3 (GSK3). Conclusion: CP2 treatment protected against synaptic dysfunction and memory impairment in symptomatic 3xTg-AD mice, and reduced levels of human pTau, indicating that targeting mitochondria with small molecule specific MCI inhibitors represents a promising strategy for treating AD.
Human molecular genetics, 2018
The purpose of our study was to understand the toxic effects of hippocampal phosphorylated tau in tau mice. Using rotarod and Morris water maze (MWM) tests, immunoblotting and immunofluorescence, Golgi-Cox staining and transmission electron microscopy, we assessed cognitive behavior, measured protein levels of mitochondrial dynamics, MAP2, total and phosphorylated tau, and quantified dendritic spines and mitochondrial number and length in 12-month-old tau mice with P301L mutation. Mitochondrial function was assessed by measuring the levels of H2O2, lipid peroxidation, cytochrome oxidase activity and mitochondrial ATP. MWM and rotarod tests revealed that hippocampal learning and memory and motor learning and coordination were impaired in tau mice relative to wild-type (WT) mice. Increased levels of mitochondrial fission proteins, Drp1 and Fis1 and decreased levels of mitochondrial fusion proteins, Mfn1, Mfn2 and Opa1 were found in 12-month-old tau mice relative to age-matched WT mice...
EBioMedicine, 2015
Development of therapeutic strategies to prevent Alzheimer's disease (AD) is of great importance. We show that mild inhibition of mitochondrial complex I with small molecule CP2 reduces levels of amyloid beta and phospho-Tau and averts cognitive decline in three animal models of familial AD. Low-mass molecular dynamics simulations and biochemical studies confirmed that CP2 competes with flavin mononucleotide for binding to the redox center of complex I leading to elevated AMP/ATP ratio and activation of AMP-activated protein kinase in neurons and mouse brain without inducing oxidative damage or inflammation. Furthermore, modulation of complex I activity augmented mitochondrial bioenergetics increasing coupling efficiency of respiratory chain and neuronal resistance to stress. Concomitant reduction of glycogen synthase kinase 3β activity and restoration of axonal trafficking resulted in elevated levels of neurotrophic factors and synaptic proteins in adult AD mice. Our results suggest that metabolic reprogramming induced by modulation of mitochondrial complex I activity represents promising therapeutic strategy for AD.
Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA) - Molecular Basis of Disease, 2014
The energy demand and calcium buffering requirements of the brain are met by the high number of mitochondria in neurons and in these, especially at the synapses. Mitochondria are the major producer of reactive oxygen species (ROS); at the same time, they are damaged by ROS that are induced by abnormal protein aggregates that characterize human neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's disease (AD). Because synaptic mitochondria are long-lived, any damage exerted by these aggregates impacts severely on neuronal function. Here we review how increased TAU, a defining feature of AD and related tauopathies, impairs mitochondrial function by following the principle: 'March separate, strike together!' In the presence of amyloid-β, TAU's toxicity is augmented suggesting synergistic pathomechanisms. In order to restore mitochondrial functions in neurodegeneration as a means of therapeutic intervention it will be important to integrate the various aspects of dysfunction and get a handle on targeting distinct cell types and subcellular compartments. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled: Misfolded Proteins, Mitochondrial Dysfunction, and Neurodegenerative Diseases.
Mitochondrial Dysfunction Contributes to the Pathogenesis of Alzheimer’s Disease
Oxidative Medicine and Cellular Longevity, 2015
Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease that affects millions of people worldwide. Currently, there is no effective treatment for AD, which indicates the necessity to understand the pathogenic mechanism of this disorder. Extracellular aggregates of amyloid precursor protein (APP), called Aβpeptide and neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs), formed by tau protein in the hyperphosphorylated form are considered the hallmarks of AD. Accumulative evidence suggests that tau pathology and Aβaffect neuronal cells compromising energy supply, antioxidant response, and synaptic activity. In this context, it has been showed that mitochondrial function could be affected by the presence of tau pathology and Aβin AD. Mitochondria are essential for brain cells function and the improvement of mitochondrial activity contributes to preventing neurodegeneration. Several reports have suggested that mitochondria could be affected in terms of morphology, bioenergetics, and transport in AD. These d...
Mitochondria dysfunction in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer’s disease: recent advances
Molecular Neurodegeneration, 2020
Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is one of the most prevalent neurodegenerative diseases, characterized by impaired cognitive function due to progressive loss of neurons in the brain. Under the microscope, neuronal accumulation of abnormal tau proteins and amyloid plaques are two pathological hallmarks in affected brain regions. Although the detailed mechanism of the pathogenesis of AD is still elusive, a large body of evidence suggests that damaged mitochondria likely play fundamental roles in the pathogenesis of AD. It is believed that a healthy pool of mitochondria not only supports neuronal activity by providing enough energy supply and other related mitochondrial functions to neurons, but also guards neurons by minimizing mitochondrial related oxidative damage. In this regard, exploration of the multitude of mitochondrial mechanisms altered in the pathogenesis of AD constitutes novel promising therapeutic targets for the disease. In this review, we will summarize recent progress that u...
New Targets for Diagnosis and Treatment Against Alzheimer’s Disease: The Mitochondrial Approach
Update on Dementia, 2016
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disorder and the most common form of dementia. AD is characterized by brain presence of senile plaques, which are formed by aggregates of Aβ peptide and neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs), formed by pathological forms of tau protein. Evidence suggests that these elements affect neurons compromising energy supply, antioxidant response and synaptic activity. AD principally affects the memory and cognitive functions of the patients, and currently, successful strategies for diagnosis and early treatment are lacking. In this scenario, accumulative evidence suggests that mitochondrial dysfunction precedes the establishment of tau and Aβ pathology and contributes to synaptic degeneration observed in AD. Therefore, reducing mitochondrial injury may have beneficial effects for neuronal dysfunction and cognitive decline observed in AD patients. Interestingly, the examination of peripheral cells from AD patients also presents mitochondrial dysfunction, suggesting that tracking these mitochondrial defects in peripheral cells could be a potential mechanism of early diagnosis of AD. In this chapter, we analyse current evidence that suggests that mitochondrial injury is an important factor in the pathogenesis of AD and how studying this process could reveal new strategies to mitigate neurodegeneration and to develop new diagnostic methods for an early detection of AD.
Insights into Mitochondrial Dysfunction: Aging, Amyloid-β, and Tau–A Deleterious Trio
Antioxidants & Redox Signaling, 2012
Significance: Alzheimer's disease (AD) is an age-related progressive neurodegenerative disorder mainly affecting elderly individuals. The pathology of AD is characterized by amyloid plaques (aggregates of amyloid-b [Ab]) and neurofibrillary tangles (aggregates of tau), but the mechanisms underlying this dysfunction are still partially unclear. Recent Advances: A growing body of evidence supports mitochondrial dysfunction as a prominent and early, chronic oxidative stress-associated event that contributes to synaptic abnormalities and, ultimately, selective neuronal degeneration in AD. Critical Issues: In this review, we discuss on the one hand whether mitochondrial decline observed in brain aging is a determinant event in the onset of AD and on the other hand the close interrelationship of this organelle with Ab and tau in the pathogenic process underlying AD. Moreover, we summarize evidence from aging and Alzheimer models showing that the harmful trio ''aging, Ab, and tau protein'' triggers mitochondrial dysfunction through a number of pathways, such as impairment of oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS), elevation of reactive oxygen species production, and interaction with mitochondrial proteins, contributing to the development and progression of the disease. Future Directions: The aging process may weaken the mitochondrial OXPHOS system in a more general way over many years providing a basis for the specific and destructive effects of Ab and tau. Establishing strategies involving efforts to protect cells at the mitochondrial level by stabilizing or restoring mitochondrial function and energy homeostasis appears to be challenging, but very promising route on the horizon. Antioxid. Redox Signal.
2020
We demonstrate that mitochondrial respiratory chain complex I is an important small molecule druggable target in Alzheimer’s Disease (AD). Partial inhibition of complex I triggers the AMP-activated protein kinase-dependent signaling network leading to neuroprotection in symptomatic APP/PS1 mice, a translational model of AD. Treatment of APP/PS1 mice with complex I inhibitor after the onset of AD-like neuropathology improved energy homeostasis, synaptic activity, long-term potentiation, dendritic spine maturation, cognitive function and proteostasis, and reduced oxidative stress and inflammation in brain and periphery, ultimately blocking the ongoing neurodegeneration. Therapeutic efficacy in vivo was monitored using translational biomarkers FDG-PET, 31P NMR, and metabolomics. Cross-validation of the mouse and the human AMP-AD transcriptomic data demonstrated that pathways improved by the treatment in APP/PS1 mice, including the immune system response and neurotransmission, represent...
Genetic ablation of tau improves mitochondrial function and cognitive abilities in the hippocampus
Redox biology, 2018
Tau is a key protein for microtubule stability; however, post-translationally modified tau contributes to neurodegenerative diseases by forming tau aggregates in the neurons. Previous reports from our group and others have shown that pathological forms of tau are toxic and impair mitochondrial function, whereas tau deletion is neuroprotective. However, the effects of tau ablation on brain structure and function in young mice have not been fully elucidated. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the implications of tau ablation on the mitochondrial function and cognitive abilities of a litter of young mice (3 months old). Our results showed that tau deletion had positive effects on hippocampal cells by decreasing oxidative damage, favoring a mitochondrial pro-fusion state, and inhibiting mitochondrial permeability transition pore (mPTP) formation by reducing cyclophilin D (Cyp-D) protein. More importantly, tau deletion increased ATP production and improved the recognitio...