Tau hyperphosphorylation in apolipoprotein E-deficient and control mice after closed head injury

Apolipoprotein E (apoE)-deficient mice have learning and memory impairments that are associated with specific neurochemical changes and hyperphosphorylation of distinct epitopes of the cytoskeletal protein tau. Furthermore, such mice are highly susceptible to the sequelae of brain trauma and their ability to recover from head injury is impaired. In the present study we investigated the extent that the neuronal maintenance and repair impairments of apoE-deficient mice are related to aberrations at the tau phosphorylation level. This was pursued by subjecting control and apoE-deficient mice to closed head injury (CHI) and examination, utilizing immunoblot assays, of the resulting effects on tau phosphorylation. The results thus obtained revealed that tau of apoE-deficient mice is hyperphosphorylated before CHI and that this insult results in transient tau hyperphosphorylation, whose extent and time course in the two mouse groups varied markedly. Tau hyperphosphorylation in the injured controls was maximal by about 4 hr after injury and reverted to basal levels by 24 hr. In contrast, almost no head injury-induced tau hyperphosphorylation was observed in the apoE-deficient mice at 4 hr after injury. Some tau hyper-phosphorylation was detected in the head-injured apoE-deficient mice after longer time intervals, but its extent was markedly lower than the maximal values obtained in the head injured controls. These findings show that the chronic neuronal impairments brought about by apoE deficiency and the acute response to head injury are both associated with hyperphosphorylation of the same tau domain and that the ability of apoE-deficient mice to mount the acute tau hyperphosphorylation response to head injury is impaired.