Mutations in the genes for amyloid precursor protein (APP) and presenilins (PS1, PS2) increase production of ␤-amyloid 42 (A␤ 42 ) and cause familial Alzheimer's disease (FAD). Transgenic mice that express FAD mutant APP and PS1 overproduce A␤ 42 and exhibit amyloid plaque pathology similar to that found in AD, but most transgenic models develop plaques slowly. To accelerate plaque development and investigate the effects of very high cerebral A␤ 42 levels, we generated APP/PS1 double transgenic mice that coexpress five FAD mutations (5XFAD mice) and additively increase A␤ 42 production. 5XFAD mice generate A␤ 42 almost exclusively and rapidly accumulate massive cerebral A␤ 42 levels. Amyloid deposition (and gliosis) begins at 2 months and reaches a very large burden, especially in subiculum and deep cortical layers. Intraneuronal A␤ 42 accumulates in 5XFAD brain starting at 1.5 months of age (before plaques form), is aggregated (as determined by thioflavin S staining), and occurs within neuron soma and neurites. Some amyloid deposits originate within morphologically abnormal neuron soma that contain intraneuronal A␤. Synaptic markers synaptophysin, syntaxin, and postsynaptic density-95 decrease with age in 5XFAD brain, and large pyramidal neurons in cortical layer 5 and subiculum are lost. In addition, levels of the activation subunit of cyclin-dependent kinase 5, p25, are elevated significantly at 9 months in 5XFAD brain, although an upward trend is observed by 3 months of age, before significant neurodegeneration or neuron loss. Finally, 5XFAD mice have impaired memory in the Y-maze. Thus, 5XFAD mice rapidly recapitulate major features of AD amyloid pathology and may be useful models of intraneuronal A␤ 42 -induced neurodegeneration and amyloid plaque formation.

Neuroanatomically precise, genome-wide maps of transcript distributions are critical resources to complement genomic sequence data and to correlate functional and genetic brain architecture. Here we describe the generation and analysis of a transcriptional atlas of the adult human brain, comprising extensive histological analysis and comprehensive microarray profiling of ~900 neuroanatomically precise subdivisions in two individuals. Transcriptional regulation varies enormously by anatomical location, with different regions and their constituent cell types displaying robust molecular signatures that are highly conserved between individuals. Analysis of differential gene expression and gene co-expression relationships demonstrates that brain-wide variation strongly reflects the distributions of major cell classes such as neurons, oligodendrocytes, astrocytes and microglia. Local neighbourhood relationships between fine anatomical subdivisions are associated with discrete neuronal subtypes and genes involved with synaptic transmission. The neocortex displays a relatively homogeneous transcriptional pattern, but with distinct features associated selectively with primary sensorimotor cortices and with enriched frontal lobe expression. Notably, the spatial topography of the neocortex is strongly reflected in its molecular topography— the closer two cortical regions, the more similar their transcriptomes. This freely accessible online data resource forms a high-resolution transcriptional baseline for neurogenetic studies of normal and abnormal human brain function.

The structure and function of the human brain are highly stereotyped, implying a conserved molecular program responsible for its development, cellular structure, and function. We applied a correlation-based metric of “differential stability” (DS) to assess reproducibility of gene expression patterning across 132 structures in six individual brains, revealing meso-scale genetic organization. The highest DS genes are highly biologically relevant, with enrichment for brain-related biological annotations, disease associations, drug targets, and literature citations. Using high DS genes we identified 32 anatomically diverse and reproducible gene expression signatures, which represent distinct cell types, intracellular components, and/or associations with neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative disorders. Genes in neuron-associated compared to non-neuronal networks showed higher preservation between human and mouse; however, many diversely-patterned genes displayed dramatic shifts in regulation between species. Finally, highly consistent transcriptional architecture in neocortex is correlated with resting state functional connectivity, suggesting a link between conserved gene expression and functionally relevant circuitry.

Summary Although there have been major advances in elucidating the functional biology of the human brain, relatively little is known of its cellular and molecular organization. Here we report a large-scale characterization of the expression of ~1,000 genes important for neural functions, by in situ hybridization with cellular resolution in visual and temporal cortices of adult human brains. These data reveal diverse gene expression patterns and remarkable conservation of each individual gene’s expression among individuals (95%), cortical areas (84%), and between human and mouse (79%). A small but substantial number of genes (21%) exhibited species-differential expression. Distinct molecular signatures, comprised of genes both common between species and unique to each, were identified for each major cortical cell type. The data suggest that gene expression profile changes may contribute to differential cortical function across species, in particular, a shift from corticosubcortical to more predominant corticocortical communications in the human brain.

Neurofibrillary tangles (NFT) are comprised of the microtubule-associated protein tau, in the form of filamentous aggregates. In addition to the well-known changes in phosphorylation state, tau undergoes multiple truncations and shifts in conformation as it transforms from an unfolded monomer to the structured polymer characteristic of NFT. Truncations at both the amino- and carboxy-termini directly influence the conformation into which the molecule folds, and hence the ability of tau to polymerize into fibrils. Certain of these truncations may be due to cleavage by caspases as part of the apoptotic cascade. In this review, we discuss evidence that strongly suggests that these truncations occur in an orderly pattern and directly influence the ability of tau to polymerize into filaments.

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The cholinergic hypothesis of decline in dementia, whereby deficits in learning, memory and behavior are caused, at least in part, by decreased levels of acetylcholine (ACh) in the brain, first emerged more than 20 years ago. The role for acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and its inhibition in this scheme has long been accepted, but findings from preclinical experiments and clinical trials have placed butyrylcholinesterase (BuChE) alongside AChE as an important contributor to the occurrence, symptoms, progression and responses to treatment in dementia. A number of new lines of evidence suggest that both cholinesterase inhibitors (ChEs) may have broader functions in the CNS than previously thought, which relate to both 'classical' esterase activities of the enzymes as well as non-classical actions unrelated to their enzymatic function. Data suggest involvement of the ChEs in modulating glial activation, cerebral blood flow, the amyloid cascade, and tau phosphorylation. It has therefore been speculated that some actions of the ChEs could affect the underlying disease processes in Alzheimer's disease (AD), and that pharmacological manipulation with ChE inhibitors may affect long-term disease progression. Focusing on new findings relating to BuChE, we review recent evidence that has extended knowledge into the roles of ChEs in health, disease and aging.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a progressive amnestic dementia that involves post-translational hyperphosphorylation, enzymatic cleavage, and conformational alterations of the microtubule-associated protein tau. The truncation state of tau influences many of its pathologic characteristics, including its ability to assume AD-related conformations and to assemble into filaments. Cleavage also appears to be an important marker in AD progression. Although C-terminal truncation of tau at D421 has recently been attributed to the apoptotic enzyme caspase-3, N-terminal processing of the protein remains mostly uncharacterized. Here, we report immunohistochemical staining in a cohort of 35 cases ranging from noncognitively impaired to early AD with a panel of three N-terminal anti-tau antibodies: Tau-12, 5A6, and 9G3-pY18. Of these three, the phosphorylation-independent epitope of 5A6 was the earliest to emerge in the pathological lesions of tau, followed by the appearance of the Tau-12 epitope. The unmasking of the Tau-12 epitope in more mature 5A6-positive tangles was not correlated with tau phosphorylation at tyrosine 18 (9G3-pY18). Still, later in the course of tangle evolution, the extreme N terminus of tau was lost, correlating temporally with the appearance of a C-terminal caspase-truncated epitope lacking residues 422-441. In addition, caspase-6 cleaved the N terminus of tau in vitro, preventing immunoreactivity with both Tau-12 and 5A6. Mass spectrometry confirmed that the in vitro caspase-6 truncation site is D13, a semicanonical and hitherto undescribed caspase cleavage site in tau. Collectively, these results suggest a role for caspase-6 and N-terminal truncation of tau during neurofibrillary tangle evolution and the progression of Alzheimer's disease.