Basic Science and Pathogenesis

The dorsal raphe nucleus (DRN) serotonin (5-HT) neurons, which are critical for socioemotional regulation and cognitive function, are among the earliest to exhibit tau pathology in Alzheimer's disease (AD). 5-HT neurons play a pivotal role in mood, social behavior and cognition. Here, we developed a mouse model to study how early tau pathology in DRN 5-HT neurons contributes to the neuropsychiatric symptoms of AD.

We generated a cre-dependent adeno-associated virus (AAV) to express a phosphorylation-prone form of human tau (hTauP301L) (controls; fluorescent reporter only). We infused the virus into the DRN of Pet1-cre mice, resulting in its specific expression in 5-HT neurons. Four weeks post- infusion, mice underwent a series of behavioral tasks to assess tau-induced changes in socioemotional and cognitive behaviors. A separate group was included in RNA-seq analysis to investigate the mechanisms underlying early tau-induced pathological changes.

Early pathological tau expression in 5-HT neurons resulted in increased anxiety-like behavior, altered stress coping strategies, female sex-specific abnormal social behavior and mild cognitive impairment. We additionally identified altered molecular markers that may underlie tau-induced early behavioral changes.

Our findings offer mechanistic insight into the emergence of neuropsychiatric symptoms early in AD progression, highlighting key targets for therapeutic intervention.