The neuronal retromer can regulate both neuronal and microglial phenotypes of Alzheimer's disease.

Disruption of retromer-dependent endosomal trafficking is considered pathogenic in late-onset Alzheimer's disease (AD). Here, to investigate this disruption in the intact brain, we turn to a genetic mouse model where the retromer core protein VPS35 is depleted in hippocampal neurons, and then we replete VPS35 using an optimized viral vector protocol. The VPS35 depletion-repletion studies strengthen the causal link between the neuronal retromer and AD-associated neuronal phenotypes, including the acceleration of amyloid precursor protein cleavage and the loss of synaptic glutamate receptors.

An Alzheimer's Disease-Linked Loss-of-Function CLN5 Variant Impairs Cathepsin D Maturation, Consistent with a Retromer Trafficking Defect.

In a whole-exome sequencing study of multiplex Alzheimer's disease (AD) families, we investigated three neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis genes that have been linked to retromer, an intracellular trafficking pathway associated with AD: ceroid lipofuscinosis 3 (CLN3), ceroid lipofuscinosis 5 (CLN5), and cathepsin D (CTSD). We identified a missense variant in CLN5 c.A959G (p.

Cholera toxin inhibits SNX27-retromer-mediated delivery of cargo proteins to the plasma membrane.

Cholera toxin (CT) causes severe diarrhea by increasing intracellular cAMP leading to a PKA-dependent increase in Cl secretion through CFTR and decreased Na absorption through inhibition of Na/H exchanger 3 (NHE3; also known as SLC9A3). The mechanism(s) by which CT inhibits NHE3 is partially understood, although no drug therapy has been successful at reversing this inhibition. We now describe that CT phosphorylates an amino acid in the PDZ domain of SNX27, which inhibits SNX27-mediated trafficking of NHE3 from the early endosomes to the plasma membrane (PM), and contributes to reduced basal NHE3 activity through a mechanism that involves reduced PM expression and reduced endocytic recycling.

The use of pharmacological retromer chaperones in Alzheimer's disease and other endosomal-related disorders.

The retromer is an evolutionary conserved multiprotein complex involved in the sorting and retrograde trafficking of cargo from endosomal compartments to the Golgi network and to the cell surface. The neuronal retromer traffics the amyloid precursor protein away from the endosomes, a site where amyloid precursor protein is enzymatically cleaved into pathogenic fragments in Alzheimer's disease. In recent years, deficiencies in retromer-mediated transport have been implicated in several neurological and non-neurological diseases, including Parkinson's disease, suggesting that improving the efficacy of the retromer trafficking pathway would result in decreased pathology.

Pharmacological chaperones stabilize retromer to limit APP processing.

Retromer is a multiprotein complex that trafficks cargo out of endosomes. The neuronal retromer traffics the amyloid-precursor protein (APP) away from endosomes, a site where APP is cleaved into pathogenic fragments in Alzheimer's disease. Here we determined whether pharmacological chaperones can enhance retromer stability and function.

Hyperleucinemia causes hippocampal retromer deficiency linking diabetes to Alzheimer's disease.

Type 2 diabetes (T2D) is a major risk factor for late-onset Alzheimer's disease (AD). A variety of metabolic changes related to T2D (e.g.

Molecular drivers and cortical spread of lateral entorhinal cortex dysfunction in preclinical Alzheimer's disease.

The entorhinal cortex has been implicated in the early stages of Alzheimer's disease, which is characterized by changes in the tau protein and in the cleaved fragments of the amyloid precursor protein (APP). We used a high-resolution functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) variant that can map metabolic defects in patients and mouse models to address basic questions about entorhinal cortex pathophysiology. The entorhinal cortex is divided into functionally distinct regions, the medial entorhinal cortex (MEC) and the lateral entorhinal cortex (LEC), and we exploited the high-resolution capabilities of the fMRI variant to ask whether either of them was affected in patients with preclinical Alzheimer's disease.

Reduction of synaptojanin 1 ameliorates synaptic and behavioral impairments in a mouse model of Alzheimer's disease.

Decades of research have correlated increased levels of amyloid-β peptide (Aβ) with neuropathological progression in Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients and transgenic models. Aβ precipitates synaptic and neuronal anomalies by perturbing intracellular signaling, which, in turn, may underlie cognitive impairment. Aβ also alters lipid metabolism, notably causing a deficiency of phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate [PI(4,5)P(2)], a phospholipid that regulates critical neuronal functions.

Trisomy for synaptojanin1 in Down syndrome is functionally linked to the enlargement of early endosomes.

Enlarged early endosomes have been observed in neurons and fibroblasts in Down syndrome (DS). These endosome abnormalities have been implicated in the early development of Alzheimer's disease (AD) pathology in these subjects. Here, we show the presence of enlarged endosomes in blood mononuclear cells and lymphoblastoid cell lines (LCLs) from individuals with DS using immunofluorescence and confocal microscopy.

Oligomeric amyloid-beta peptide disrupts phosphatidylinositol-4,5-bisphosphate metabolism.

Synaptic dysfunction caused by oligomeric assemblies of amyloid-beta peptide (Abeta) has been linked to cognitive deficits in Alzheimer's disease. Here we found that incubation of primary cortical neurons with oligomeric Abeta decreases the level of phosphatidylinositol-4,5-bisphosphate (PtdIns(4,5)P2), a phospholipid that regulates key aspects of neuronal function. The destabilizing effect of Abeta on PtdIns(4,5)P2 metabolism was Ca2+-dependent and was not observed in neurons that were derived from mice that are haploinsufficient for Synj1.

Oligomers of beta-amyloid peptide inhibit BDNF-induced arc expression in cultured cortical Neurons.

The progressive memory loss observed in Alzheimer's disease (AD) is accompanied by an increase in the levels of amyloid-beta peptide (Abeta) and a block of synaptic plasticity. Both synaptic plasticity and memory require changes in the expression of synaptic proteins such as the activity-regulated cytoskeleton-associated protein, Arc (also termed Arg3.1).

Stability of retrieved memory: inverse correlation with trace dominance.

In memory consolidation, the memory trace stabilizes and becomes resistant to certain amnesic agents. The textbook account is that for any memorized item, consolidation starts and ends just once. However, evidence has accumulated that upon activation in retrieval, the trace may reconsolidate.

Conflicting processes in the extinction of conditioned taste aversion: behavioral and molecular aspects of latency, apparent stagnation, and spontaneous recovery.

The study of experimental extinction and of the spontaneous recovery of the extinguished memory could cast light on neurobiological mechanisms by which internal representations compete to control behavior. In this work, we use a combination of behavioral and molecular methods to dissect subprocesses of experimental extinction of conditioned taste aversion (CTA). Extinction of CTA becomes apparent only 90 min after the extinction trial.

Modulation of taste-induced Elk-1 activation by identified neurotransmitter systems in the insular cortex of the behaving rat.

Taste consumption activates the extracellular responsive kinases 1-2 (ERK1-2) and the transcription factor Elk-1 in the insular cortex (IC) of the behaving rat. ERKs activation, an obligatory step for the encoding of long- but not short-term memory, was shown to be regulated by multiple neurotransmitter systems in the IC. Here I show, by the use of local microinfusions of pharmacological agents into the IC of the behaving rat, that a set of similar systems is required for the taste-induced activation of Elk-1.