Long term worsening of amyloid pathology, cerebral function, and cognition after a single inoculation of beta-amyloid seeds with Osaka mutation

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is characterized by intracerebral deposition of abnormal proteinaceous assemblies made of amyloid-β (Aß) peptides or tau proteins.

These peptides and proteins induce synaptic dysfunctions that are strongly correlated with cognitive decline.

Intracerebral infusion of well-defined Aβ seeds from non-mutated Aβ 1-40 or Aβ 1-42 peptides can increase Aβ depositions several months after the infusion.

Familial forms of AD are associated with mutations in the amyloid precursor protein (APP) that induce the production of Aβ peptides with different structures.

The Aβ Osaka (Aβ osa mutation (E693Δ)) is located within the Aβ sequence and thus the Aβ osa peptides have different structures and properties as compared to non-mutated Aβ 1-42 peptides (Aβ wt).

Here, we wondered if a single exposure to this mutated Aβ can worsen AD pathology as well as downstream events including cognition, cerebral connectivity and synaptic health several months after the inoculation.

To answer this question we inoculated Aβ 1-42-bearing Osaka mutation (Aβ osa) in the dentate gyrus of APP swe /PS1 dE9 mice at the age of two months.

Their cognition and cerebral connectivity were analyzed at 4 months post-inoculation by behavioral evaluation and functional MRI.

Aβ pathology as well as synaptic density were evaluated by histology.

The impact of Aβ osa peptides on synaptic health was also measured on primary cortical neurons.

Remarkably, the intracerebral administration of Aβ osa induced cognitive and synaptic impairments as well as a reduction of functional connectivity between different brain regions, 4 months post-inoculation.

It increased Aβ plaque depositions and increased Aβ oligomers.

This is the first study showing that a single, sporadic event as Aβ osa inoculation can worsen the fate of the pathology and clinical outcome several months after the event.

It suggests that a single inoculation of Aβ regulates a large cascade of events for a long time.