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Updated: Aug 19, 2026

Quantitative 3D In Silico Modeling (q3DISM) of Cerebral Amyloid-beta Phagocytosis in Rodent Models of Alzheimer's Disease
Published on: December 26, 2016
Human-like rodent amyloid-beta-peptide determines Alzheimer pathology in aged wild-type Octodon degu
Nibaldo C Inestrosa1, Ariel E Reyes, Marcelo A Chacón
1Centro FONDAP de Regulación Celular y Patología Joaquín V. Luco, MIFAB, Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas, P. Universidad Católica de Chile, Alameda 340, Santiago, Chile. ninestr@genes.bio.puc.cl
Abstract:
It is generally accepted that human Alzheimer's disease (AD) neuropathology markers are completely absent in rodent brains. We report here that an aged wild-type South American rodent, Octodon degu, expresses neuronal beta-amyloid precursor protein (beta-APP695) displaying both intracellular and extracellular deposits of amyloid-beta-peptide (Abeta), intracellular accumulations of tau-protein and ubiquitin, a strong astrocytic response and acetylcholinesterase (AChE)-rich pyramidal neurons. The high amino acid homology (97.5%) between deguAbeta and humanAbeta sequences is probably a major factor in the appearance of AD markers in this aged rodent. Our results indicate that aged O. degu constitutes the first wild-type rodent model for neurodegenerative processes associated to AD.
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