Amyloid β-Peptide Oligomers Stimulate RyR-Mediated Ca2+ Release Inducing Mitochondrial Fragmentation in Hippocampal Neurons and Prevent RyR-Mediated Dendritic Spine Remodeling Produced by BDNF

Soluble amyloid beta-peptide oligomers (A beta Os), increasingly recognized as causative agents of Alzheimer's disease (AD), disrupt neuronal Ca2+ homeostasis and synaptic function. Here, we report that A beta Os at sublethal concentrations generate prolonged Ca2+ signals in primary hippocampal neurons; incubation in Ca2+-free solutions, inhibition of ryanodine receptors (RyRs) or N-methyl-d-aspartate receptors (NMDARs), or preincubation with N-acetyl-L-cysteine abolished these signals. A beta Os decreased (6 h) RyR2 and RyR3 mRNA and RyR2 protein, and promoted mitochondrial fragmentation after 24 h. NMDAR inhibition abolished the RyR2 decrease, whereas RyR inhibition prevented significantly the RyR2 protein decrease and mitochondrial fragmentation induced by A beta Os. Incubation with A beta Os (6 h) eliminated the RyR2 increase induced by brain-derived nerve factor (BDNF) and the dendritic spine remodeling induced within minutes by BDNF or the RyR agonist caffeine. Addition of BDNF to neurons incubated with A beta Os for 24 h, which had RyR2 similar to and slightly higher RyR3 protein content than those of controls, induced dendritic spine growth but at slower rates than in controls. These combined effects of sublethal A beta Os concentrations (which include redox-sensitive stimulation of RyR-mediated Ca2+ release, decreased RyR2 protein expression, mitochondrial fragmentation, and prevention of RyR-mediated spine remodeling) may contribute to impairing the synaptic plasticity in AD. Antioxid. Redox Signal. 14, 1209-1223.