Neuron-Specific Apolipoprotein E4 (1-272) Fragment Induces Tau Hyperphosphorylation and Axonopathy via Triggering Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress

Article type: Research Article

Authors: Liang, Tao^{a; b} | Xue, Feixiao^c | Hang, Weijian^a | Wen, Bin^a | Zhang, Qianying^a | Chen, Jiehui^a | Liu, Xiaofeng^{a; d; *} | Chen, Juan^{a; *}

Affiliations: [a] Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, School of Basic Medicine and the Collaborative Innovation Center for Brain Science, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei, China | [b] Department of Clinical laboratory, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China | [c] Department of Clinical laboratory, Xi’an No.3 Hospital, Xi’an, Shanxi, China | [d] Department of Laboratory Medicine and Gene Diagnostic Laboratory, The First Affiliated Hospital of Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou, Fujian, China

Correspondence: [*] Correspondence to: Juan Chen, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, School of Basic Medicine and the Collaborative Innovation Center for Brain Science, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430030, Hubei, China. E-mail: chenjuanlinda69@163.com; and Xiaofeng Liu, Department of Laboratory Medicine and Gene Diagnostic Laboratory, The First Affiliated Hospital of Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou, 350005, Fujian, China. E-mail: 474527904@qq.com.

Abstract: Apolipoprotein (apo) E4 is the major genetic risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease (AD). It is shown that apoE4 preferentially undergoes aberrant cleavage in neurons, yielding neurotoxic C-terminal-truncated apoE4 fragment. Endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress has also been known to be involved in the pathogenesis of AD. However, little is known about the contribution of ER stress to the neurotoxicity of apoE4 fragment. In the present study, we established the neuron-specific expression human C-terminal-truncated apoE4(1–272) fragment transgenic mice and also transfected apoE4(1–272) fragment in neuroblastoma N2a cells. We found that human apoE4(1–272) fragment could trigger ER stress as evidenced by increasing the expression of ER stress markers both in vivo and in vitro. Meanwhile, the apoE4(1–272) transgenic mice presented obviously AD-like neuropathological changes, including the impairment of spatial learning and memory, prominent axonal morphological changes, and hyperphosphorylation of tau. At the same time, we also found that glycogen synthase kinase-3 activities were significantly increased. Furthermore, these neuropathological changes, especially tau hyperphosphorylation and axonal transport impairment, were significantly rescued by the ER stress protector 4-phenylbutyric acid (4-PBA) in apoE4(1–272)-transfected N2a cells. Pretreatment with 4-PBA not only decreased the protein expression of immunoglobulin binding protein (BiP) and C/EBP-homologous protein (CHOP), but also significantly reversed these defects in axonal transport. These results suggested that the neurotoxic effects of apoE4(1–272) fragment found in AD subjects, at least in part, through triggering ER stress and inducing tau hyperphosphorylation, led to the enduring impairment of axonal transport.

Keywords: Alzheimer’s disease, apolipoprotein E4 (1–272), axonopathy, endoplasmic reticulum stress, tau phosphorylation

DOI: 10.3233/JAD-190419

Journal: Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, vol. 71, no. 2, pp. 597-611, 2019