Q. Guo et al., Increased vulnerability of hippocampal neurons to excitotoxic necrosis in presenilin-1 mutant knock-in mice, NAT MED, 5(1), 1999, pp. 101-106
Citations number
30
Categorie Soggetti
Research/Laboratory Medicine & Medical Tecnology","Medical Research General Topics
Excitotoxicity, a form of neuronal injury in which excessive activation of
glutamate receptors results in cellular calcium overload(1,2) has been impl
icated in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer disease(3,4) (AD), although direct
evidence is lacking. Mutations in the presenilin-1 (PS1) gene on chromosome
14 are causally linked to many cases of early-onset inherited AD (refs. 5,
6). We generated PS1 mutant mice (PS1M146VKI) that express the PS1 M146V ta
rgeted allele at normal physiological levels. Although PS1M146VKI mice have
no overt mutant phenotype, they are hypersensitive to seizure-induced syna
ptic degeneration and necrotic neuronal death in the hippocampus. Cultured
hippocampal neurons from PS1M146VKI mice have increased vulnerability to de
ath induced by glutamate, which is correlated with perturbed calcium homeos
tasis, increased oxidative stress and mitochondrial dysfunction. Agents tha
t suppress calcium influx or release and antioxidants protect neurons again
st the excitotoxic action of the PS1 mutation. These findings establish a d
irect link between a genetic defect that causes AD and excitotoxic neuronal
degeneration, and indicate new avenues for therapeutic intervention in AD
patients.