Dr. Guilian Xu & colleagues publish in Nov 14, 2015 Acta Neuropathologica Communications

Murine Abeta over-production produces diffuse and compact Alzheimer-type amyloid deposits. Xu G, Ran Y, Fromholt SE, Fu C, Yachnis AT, Golde TE, Borchelt DR. Acta Neuropathol Commun 2015; 3(1):72.

Abstract

INTRODUCTION:  Transgenic overexpression of amyloid precursor protein (APP) genes that are either entirely human in sequence or have humanized Aβ sequences can produce Alzheimer-type amyloidosis in mice, provided the transgenes also encode mutations linked to familial Alzheimer’s Disease (FAD). Although transgenic mice have been produced that overexpress wild-type mouse APP, no mice have been generated that express mouse APP with FAD mutations. Here we describe two different versions of such mice that produce amyloid deposits consisting of entirely of mouse Aβ peptides. One line of mice co-expresses mouse APP-Swedish (moAPPswe) with a human presenilin exon-9 deleted variant (PS1dE9) and another line expresses mouse APP-Swedish/Indiana (APPsi) using tetracycline-regulated vectors (tet.moAPPsi).

RESULTS: Both lines of mice that produce mouse Aβ develop amyloid deposits, with the moAPPswe/PS1dE9 micedeveloping extracellular compact, cored, neuritic deposits that primarily localize to white matter tracts andmeningial layers, whereas the tet.moAPPsi mice developed extracellular diffuse cortical/hippocampal deposits distributed throughout the parenchyma.

CONCLUSIONS:These findings demonstrate that murine Aβ peptides have the capacity to produce amyloid