Activation of Wnt signaling by lithium and rosiglitazone reduced spatial memory impairment and neurodegeneration in brains of an APPswe/PSEN1ΔE9 mouse model of Alzheimer's disease

Alzheimer's disease ( AD) is a neurodegenerative disorder characterized by a progressive deterioration of cognitive abilities, accumulation of the amyloid-beta-peptide (A beta) and synaptic alterations. Treatment with lithium has been shown to provide neuroprotection against several insults, including protection against Ab neurotoxicity in vitro. Rosiglitazone, a peroxisome proliferator activated receptor-gamma agonist, has been shown to attenuate A beta-peptide neurotoxic effects, including the inflammatory response of microglia and astrocytes. Both types of drugs activate Wnt signaling, a pathway that has been shown to be related to AD. In this study, a double transgenic mouse model, which coexpresses APPswe and the exon 9 deletion of the presenilin 1 (PSEN1) gene, was used to examine, in vivo, the effect of lithium and rosiglitazone on A beta neurotoxicity. Mice were tested for spatial memory, and their brain samples were used for histochemical and biochemical analysis. In this study, we report that both drugs significantly reduced ( 1) spatial memory impairment induced by amyloid burden; ( 2) Ab aggregates and A beta oligomers; and ( 3) astrocytic and microglia activation. They also prevented changes in presynaptic and postsynaptic marker proteins. Finally, both drugs activate Wnt signaling shown by the increase in beta-catenin and by the inhibition of the glycogen synthase kinase-3 beta. We conclude that lithium and rosiglitazone, possibly by the activation of the Wnt signaling pathway, reduce various AD neuropathological markers and may be considered as potential therapeutic agents against the disease. Molecular Psychiatry ( 2010) 15, 272-285; doi: 10.1038/mp.2009.72; published online 21 July 2009