Immunotherapy for Alzheimer\'s disease has emerged as a promising approach for clearing pathological tau protein conformers. To explore this kind of treatment we tested an active immunization with pseudo-phosphorylated tau fragments in P301L tangle model mice that develop neuronal tau aggregates as observed in frontotemporal dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.
We found that an immunization reduces neurodegeneration in α-motor neurons in the spinal cord and slows progression of the tangle-related behavioral phenotype. Performance on behavioral assays correlated with tau pathology at the corresponding spinal cord level. Interestingly, a slowed progression of these tauopathy related characteristics were only seen in mice that received a specific immunization with pseudo-phosphorylated tau fragments, not in animals that received a non-specific activation of the immune system.
An immunization witch pseudo-phosphorylated tau fragments may be a valuable therapeutic option in targeting one of the major hallmarks of Alzheimer’s disease and frontotemporal dementia.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:DRESDEN/oai:qucosa.de:bsz:15-qucosa-183096 |
| Date | 23 November 2015 |
| Creators | Schaller, Marie-Catherine |
| Contributors | Uniklinikum Leipzig, Paul-Flechsig-Institut, PD Dr. rer. nat. habil. Max Holzer, Prof. Dr. Thomas Arendt, Prof. Dr. med. Hermann-Josef Gertz |
| Publisher | Universitätsbibliothek Leipzig |
| Source Sets | Hochschulschriftenserver (HSSS) der SLUB Dresden |
| Language | deu |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | doc-type:doctoralThesis |
| Format | application/pdf |
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