Journal
JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE
Volume 34, Issue 21, Pages 7124-7136Publisher
SOC NEUROSCIENCE
DOI: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.3439-13.2014
Keywords
Alzheimer's disease; knock-out; MAPs; Morris Water Maze; synaptic markers; tau
Categories
Funding
- National Institutes of Health [AT003008]
- Alzheimer's Disease Research Center [P01AG16570, RC1AG035878, AG13471, U01 28583, R01AG021975]
- Alzheimer's Association [NIRG-07-59659]
- UCLA Alzheimer's Disease Research Center Mary S. Easton Drug Discovery Program
- UCLA Mary S. Easton Translational Center
- Beijing High Standard Health Human Resource Cultural Program [e1e12]
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Hyperphosphorylation and accumulation of tau aggregates are prominent features in tauopathies, including Alzheimer's disease, but the impact of loss of tau function on synaptic and cognitive deficits remains poorly understood. We report that old (19 - 20 months; OKO) but not middle-aged (8 - 9 months; MKO) tau knock-out mice develop Morris Water Maze(MWM) deficits and loss of hippocampal acetylated alpha-tubulin and excitatory synaptic proteins. Mild motor deficits and reduction in tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) in the substantia nigra were present by middle age, but did not affect MWM performance, whereas OKO mice showed MWM deficits paralleling hippocampal deficits. Deletion of tau, a microtubule-associated protein (MAP), resulted in increased levels of MAP1A, MAP1B, and MAP2 in MKO, followed by loss of MAP2 and MAP1B in OKO. Hippocampal synaptic deficits in OKO mice were partially corrected with dietary supplementation with docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and both MWM and synaptic deficits were fully corrected by combining DHA with alpha-lipoic acid (ALA), which also prevented TH loss. DHA or DHA/ALA restored phosphorylated and total GSK3 beta and attenuated hyperactivation of the tau C-Jun N-terminal kinases (JNKs) while increasing MAP1B, dephosphorylated (active) MAP2, and acetylated alpha-tubulin, suggesting improved microtubule stability and maintenance of active compensatory MAPs. Our results implicate the loss of MAP function in age-associated hippocampal deficits and identify a safe dietary intervention, rescuing both MAP function and TH in OKO mice. Therefore, in addition to microtubule-stabilizing therapeutic drugs, preserving or restoring compensatory MAP function may be a useful new prevention strategy.
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