Ligand for translocator protein reverses pathology in a mouse model of Alzheimer's disease

Anna M. Barron, Luis M. Garcia-Segura, Donatella Caruso, Anusha Jayaraman, Joo Won Lee, Roberto C. Melcangi, Christian J. Pike

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

128 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Ligands of the translocator protein (TSPO) elicit pleiotropic neuroprotective effects that represent emerging treatment strategies for several neurodegenerative conditions. To investigate the potential of TSPO as a therapeutic target for Alzheimer's disease (AD), the current study assessed the effects of the TSPO ligand Ro5-4864 on the development of neuropathology in 3xTgAD mice. The effects of the TSPO ligand on neurosteroidogenesis and AD-related neuropathology, including β-amyloid accumulation, gliosis, and behavioral impairment, were examined under both early intervention (7-month-old young-adult male mice with low pathology) and treatment (24- month-old, aged male mice with advanced neuropathology) conditions. Ro5-4864 treatment not only effectively attenuated development of neuropathology and behavioral impairment in young-adult mice but also reversed these indices in aged 3xTgAD mice. Reduced levels of soluble β-amyloid were also observed by the combination of TSPO ligands Ro5-4864 and PK11195 in nontransgenicmice.ThesefindingssuggestthatTSPOisapromisingtargetforthedevelopmentofpleiotropictreatmentstrategies for the management of AD.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)8891-8897
Number of pages7
JournalJournal of Neuroscience
Volume33
Issue number20
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - May 15 2013
Externally publishedYes

ASJC Scopus Subject Areas

  • General Neuroscience

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