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Published on: March 7, 2019
Cysteine string protein alpha accumulates with early pre-synaptic dysfunction in Alzheimer's disease
Huzefa Rupawala1, Keshvi Shah1, Caitlin Davies2
1Department of Basic and Clinical Neuroscience, King's College London, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, 5 Cutcombe Road, London SE5 9RX, UK.
Cysteine string protein alpha (CSPα) is an early, sensitive marker for synapse loss in Alzheimer's disease (AD). Extracellular CSPα accumulations near beta-amyloid plaques indicate early synaptic dysfunction, even in other neurodegenerative diseases with plaques.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Pathology
- Molecular Biology
Background:
- Synapse loss in Alzheimer's disease (AD) leads to cognitive decline.
- Mechanisms of synaptic degeneration in AD are not fully understood.
- Cysteine string protein alpha (CSPα) is a pre-synaptic co-chaperone sensitive to early synaptic changes.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the role of CSPα in Alzheimer's disease pathogenesis.
- To identify CSPα as a potential early biomarker for synaptic degeneration.
- To examine CSPα localization relative to pathological hallmarks in AD.
Main Methods:
- Post-mortem human brain tissue analysis
- Transgenic mouse model of Alzheimer's disease
- Super-resolution microscopy and array tomography
Main Results:
- Extracellular CSPα accumulations found near beta-amyloid plaques in AD brains.
- CSPα accumulates at greater distances from plaque cores than other pre-synaptic proteins.
- CSPα accumulation indicates sensitivity to low concentrations of beta-amyloid oligomers.
- CSPα accumulations observed in other neurodegenerative diseases with amyloid plaques.
Conclusions:
- CSPα is a sensitive marker for early pre-synaptic dysfunction in Alzheimer's disease.
- CSPα accumulation precedes other markers of synaptic degeneration.
- CSPα serves as a potential pathological marker for early synaptic disruption caused by beta-amyloid.
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