TY - JOUR
T1 - Parkinsonism and impaired axonal transport in a mouse model of frontotemporal dementia
AU - Ittner, Lars M.
AU - Fath, Thomas
AU - Ke, Yazi D.
AU - Bi, Mian
AU - Van Eersel, Janet
AU - Li, Kong M.
AU - Gunning, Peter
AU - Götz, Jürgen
PY - 2008/10/14
Y1 - 2008/10/14
N2 - Frontotemporal dementia (FTD) is characterized by cognitive and behavioral changes and, in a significant subset of patients, Parkinsonism. Histopathologically, FTD frequently presents with tau-containing lesions, which in familial cases result from mutations in the MAPT gene encoding tau. Here we present a novel transgenic mouse strain (K3) that expresses human tau carrying the FTD mutation K369I. K3 mice develop a progressive histopathology that is reminiscent of that in human FTD with the K369I mutation. In addition, K3 mice show early-onset memory impairment and amyotrophy in the absence of overt neurodegeneration. Different from our previously generated tau transgenic strains, the K3 mice express the transgene in the substantia nigra (SN) and show an early-onset motor phenotype that reproduces Parkinsonism with tremor, bradykinesia, abnormal gait, and postural instability. Interestingly, motor performance of young, but not old, K3 mice improves upon L-dopa treatment, which bears similarities to Parkinsonism in FTD. The early-onset symptoms in the K3 mice are mechanistically related to selectively impaired anterograde axonal transport of distinct cargos, which precedes the loss of dopaminergic SN neurons that occurs in aged mice. The impaired axonal transport in SN neurons affects, among others, vesicles containing the dopamine-synthesizing enzyme tyrosine hydroxylase. Distinct modes of transport are also impaired in sciatic nerves, which may explain amyotrophy. Together, the K3 mice are a unique model of FTD-associated Parkinsonism, with pathomechanistic implications for the human pathologic process.
AB - Frontotemporal dementia (FTD) is characterized by cognitive and behavioral changes and, in a significant subset of patients, Parkinsonism. Histopathologically, FTD frequently presents with tau-containing lesions, which in familial cases result from mutations in the MAPT gene encoding tau. Here we present a novel transgenic mouse strain (K3) that expresses human tau carrying the FTD mutation K369I. K3 mice develop a progressive histopathology that is reminiscent of that in human FTD with the K369I mutation. In addition, K3 mice show early-onset memory impairment and amyotrophy in the absence of overt neurodegeneration. Different from our previously generated tau transgenic strains, the K3 mice express the transgene in the substantia nigra (SN) and show an early-onset motor phenotype that reproduces Parkinsonism with tremor, bradykinesia, abnormal gait, and postural instability. Interestingly, motor performance of young, but not old, K3 mice improves upon L-dopa treatment, which bears similarities to Parkinsonism in FTD. The early-onset symptoms in the K3 mice are mechanistically related to selectively impaired anterograde axonal transport of distinct cargos, which precedes the loss of dopaminergic SN neurons that occurs in aged mice. The impaired axonal transport in SN neurons affects, among others, vesicles containing the dopamine-synthesizing enzyme tyrosine hydroxylase. Distinct modes of transport are also impaired in sciatic nerves, which may explain amyotrophy. Together, the K3 mice are a unique model of FTD-associated Parkinsonism, with pathomechanistic implications for the human pathologic process.
KW - Alzheimer
KW - Memory
KW - NFT
KW - Tau
KW - Transgenic
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=57349172663&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1073/pnas.0808084105
DO - 10.1073/pnas.0808084105
M3 - Article
C2 - 18832465
AN - SCOPUS:57349172663
SN - 0027-8424
VL - 105
SP - 15997
EP - 16002
JO - Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
JF - Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
IS - 41
ER -