Isoflurane anesthesia precipitates tauopathy and upper airways dysfunction in pre-symptomatic Tau.P301L mice: possible implication for neurodegenerative diseases.

The postoperative cognitive decline resulting from volatile anesthesia is gaining acceptance as a major health problem. The common anesthetic isoflurane is suspected to precipitate neurodegeneration in Alzheimer's disease by unknown mechanisms. We previously validated that 8month old Tau.

Age-related impairment of ultrasonic vocalization in Tau.P301L mice: possible implication for progressive language disorders.

Background: Tauopathies, including Alzheimer's Disease, are the most frequent neurodegenerative diseases in elderly people and cause various cognitive, behavioural and motor defects, but also progressive language disorders. For communication and social interactions, mice produce ultrasonic vocalization (USV) via expiratory airflow through the larynx. We examined USV of Tau.

Dendritic degeneration, neurovascular defects, and inflammation precede neuronal loss in a mouse model for tau-mediated neurodegeneration.

Adeno-associated virus (AAV)-mediated expression of wild-type or mutant P301L protein tau produces massive degeneration of pyramidal neurons without protein tau aggregation. We probed this novel model for genetic and structural factors and early parameters of pyramidal neurodegeneration. In yellow fluorescent protein-expressing transgenic mice, intracerebral injection of AAV-tauP301L revealed early damage to apical dendrites of CA1 pyramidal neurons, whereas their somata remained normal.

Raphé tauopathy alters serotonin metabolism and breathing activity in terminal Tau.P301L mice: possible implications for tauopathies and Alzheimer's disease.

Tauopathies, including Alzheimer's disease are the most frequent neurodegenerative disorders in elderly people. Patients develop cognitive and behaviour defects induced by the tauopathy in the forebrain, but most also display early brainstem tauopathy, with oro-pharyngeal and serotoninergic (5-HT) defects. We studied these aspects in Tau.

Upper airway dysfunction of Tau-P301L mice correlates with tauopathy in midbrain and ponto-medullary brainstem nuclei.

Tauopathy comprises hyperphosphorylation of the microtubule-associated protein tau, causing intracellular aggregation and accumulation as neurofibrillary tangles and neuropil treads. Some primary tauopathies are linked to mutations in the MAPT gene coding for protein tau, but most are sporadic with unknown causes. Also, in Alzheimer's disease, the most frequent secondary tauopathy, neither the cause nor the pathological mechanisms and repercussions are understood.