Progressive tauopathy disrupts breathing stability and chemoreflexes during presumptive sleep in mice.

Although sleep apnea occurs in over 50% of individuals with Alzheimer's Disease (AD) or related tauopathies, little is known concerning the potential role of tauopathy in the pathogenesis of sleep apnea. Here, we tested the hypotheses that, during presumptive sleep, a murine model of tauopathy (rTg4510) exhibits: 1) increased breathing instability; 2) impaired chemoreflex function; and 3) exacerbation of these effects with tauopathy progression. rTg4510 mice initially develop robust tauopathy in the hippocampus and cortex, and eventually progresses to the brainstem.