| First Author | Janelsins MC | Year | 2008 |
| Journal | Am J Pathol | Volume | 173 |
| Issue | 6 | Pages | 1768-82 |
| PubMed ID | 18974297 | Mgi Jnum | J:143926 |
| Mgi Id | MGI:3829343 | Doi | 10.2353/ajpath.2008.080528 |
| Citation | Janelsins MC, et al. (2008) Chronic neuron-specific tumor necrosis factor-alpha expression enhances the local inflammatory environment ultimately leading to neuronal death in 3xTg-AD mice. Am J Pathol 173(6):1768-82 |
| abstractText | Inflammatory mediators, such as tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) and interleukin-1beta, appear integral in initiating and/or propagating Alzheimer's disease (AD)-associated pathogenesis. We have previously observed a significant increase in the number of mRNA transcripts encoding the pro-inflammatory cytokine TNF-alpha, which correlated to regionally enhanced microglial activation in the brains of triple transgenic mice (3xTg-AD) before the onset of overt amyloid pathology. In this study, we reveal that neurons serve as significant sources of TNF-alpha in 3xTg-AD mice. To further define the role of neuronally derived TNF-alpha during early AD-like pathology, a recombinant adeno-associated virus vector expressing TNF-alpha was stereotactically delivered to 2-month-old 3xTg-AD mice and non-transgenic control mice to produce sustained focal cytokine expression. At 6 months of age, 3xTg-AD mice exhibited evidence of enhanced intracellular levels of amyloid-beta and hyperphosphorylated tau, as well as microglial activation. At 12 months of age, both TNF receptor II and Jun-related mRNA levels were significantly enhanced, and peripheral cell infiltration and neuronal death were observed in 3xTg-AD mice, but not in non-transgenic mice. These data indicate that a pathological interaction exists between TNF-alpha and the AD-related transgene products in the brains of 3xTg-AD mice. Results presented here suggest that chronic neuronal TNF-alpha expression promotes inflammation and, ultimately, neuronal cell death in this AD mouse model, advocating the development of TNF-alpha-specific agents to subvert AD. |
