Amyloid-β (Aβ) plaque deposition in specific brain regions is a major pathological hallmark of Alzheimer’fs disease (AD). However, the mechanism underlying the regional vulnerability to Aβ deposition in AD is unknown. Herein, we provide evidence that endogenous neuronal activity regulates the regional concentration of interstitial fluid (ISF) Aβ which drives local Aβ aggregation. Using in vivo microdialysis, we show that ISF Aβ levels in multiple brain regions of APP transgenic mice prior to plaque deposition were commensurate with the degree of subsequent plaque deposition and to the concentration of lactate, a marker of neuronal activity. Furthermore, unilateral vibrissae stimulation increased ISF Aβ, and unilateral vibrissae deprivation decreased ISF Aβ and lactate levels in contralateral barrel cortex. Long term unilateral vibrissae deprivation decreased amyloid plaque formation and growth. Our results suggest a mechanism to account for the vulnerability of specific brain regions to Aβ deposition in AD.

Aggregation of amyloid-β (Aβ) in the brain begins to occur years prior to the clinical onset of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Prior to Aβ aggregation, levels of extracellular, soluble interstitial fluid (ISF) Aβ, which are regulated by neuronal activity and the sleep-wake cycle, correlate with the amount of Aβ deposition in the brain seen later. The amount and quality of sleep declines with aging and to a greater extent in AD. How sleep quality amount as well as the diurnal fluctuation in Aβ change with age and Aβ aggregation are not well understood. We report that a normal sleep-wake cycle and diurnal fluctuation of ISF Aβ is present in the brain of APPswe/PS1δE9 mice before Aβ plaque formation. Following plaque formation, the sleep-wake cycle markedly deteriorated and diurnal fluctuation of ISF Aβ dissipated. As in mice, diurnal fluctuation of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) Aβ in young adult humans with presenilin mutations was also markedly attenuated with Aβ plaque formation. Virtual elimination of Aβ deposits in the mouse brain by active immunization with Aβ42 normalized the sleep-wake cycle and the diurnal fluctuation of ISF Aβ. These data suggest that Aβ aggregation disrupts the sleep-wake cycle and diurnal fluctuation of Aβ. Sleep-wake behavior and diurnal fluctuation of Aβ in the central nervous system appear to be functional and biochemical markers respectively of Aβ-associated pathology that should be explored in humans diagnostically prior to and following symptom onset and in response to treatment.

Brain aging is associated with diminished circadian clock output and decreased expression of the core clock proteins, which regulate many aspects of cellular biochemistry and metabolism. The genes encoding clock proteins are expressed throughout the brain, though it is unknown whether these proteins modulate brain homeostasis. We observed that deletion of circadian clock transcriptional activators aryl hydrocarbon receptor nuclear translocator-like (Bmal1) alone, or circadian locomotor output cycles kaput (Clock) in combination with neuronal PAS domain protein 2 (Npas2), induced severe age-dependent astrogliosis in the cortex and hippocampus. Mice lacking the clock gene repressors period circadian clock 1 (Per1) and period circadian clock 2 (Per2) had no observed astrogliosis. Bmal1 deletion caused the degeneration of synaptic terminals and impaired cortical functional connectivity, as well as neuronal oxidative damage and impaired expression of several redox defense genes. Targeted deletion of Bmal1 in neurons and glia caused similar neuropathology, despite the retention of intact circadian behavioral and sleep-wake rhythms. Reduction of Bmal1 expression promoted neuronal death in primary cultures and in mice treated with a chemical inducer of oxidative injury and striatal neurodegeneration. Our findings indicate that BMAL1 in a complex with CLOCK or NPAS2 regulates cerebral redox homeostasis and connects impaired clock gene function to neurodegeneration.