| 1. |
- Binette, Alexa Pichet, et al.
(författare)
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Amyloid-associated increases in soluble tau is a key driver in accumulation of tau aggregates and cognitive decline in early Alzheimer
- 2022
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Ingår i: Alzheimer's and Dementia. - : Wiley. - 1552-5260 .- 1552-5279. ; 18:S1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: For optimal design of anti-amyloid-β (Aβ) and anti-tau clinical trials, it is important to understand how Aβ and soluble phosphorylated tau (p-tau) relate to the accumulation of tau aggregates assessed with positron emission tomography (PET) and subsequent cognitive decline across the Alzheimer's disease (AD) continuum. Method: We included 327 participants from the Swedish BioFINDER-2 cohort with cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) p-tau217, Aβ-PET, longitudinal tau-PET, and longitudinal cognition. The main groups of interest were Aβ-positive non-demented participants and AD dementia patients (Table 1 and Figure 1), and analyses were conducted separately in each group. First, we investigated how soluble p-tau217 and regional Aβ-PET were associated with tau-PET rate of change across the 200 brain parcels from the Schaefer atlas. We also tested the mediating effect of p-tau217 between Aβ-PET and tau-PET change. Second, we investigated how soluble p-tau217 and tau-PET change related to change in cognition, and mediation between these variables. Result: In early AD stages (non-demented participants), increased concentration of soluble p-tau217 was the main driver of accumulation of insoluble tau aggregates across the brain (measured as tau-PET rate of change), beyond the effect of regional Aβ-PET and baseline tau-PET (Figure 2A-C). Further, averaged across all regions, soluble p-tau217 mediated 54% of the association between Aβ and tau aggregation (Figure 2D). Higher soluble p-tau217 concentrations were also associated with cognitive decline, which was mediated by faster increase of tau aggregates (Figure 3). Repeating the same analyses in the AD dementia group, results were different. In late stage of AD, when Aβ fibrils and soluble p-tau levels have plateaued, soluble p-tau217 was not associated with accumulation of tau aggregates beyond baseline tau-PET (Figure 4A), and cognitive decline was driven by the accumulation rate of insoluble tau aggregates and not soluble p-tau217 (Figure 4B-C). Conclusion: Soluble p-tau is a main driver of tau aggregation and future cognitive decline in earlier stages of AD, whereas tau aggregation accumulation is more likely an important driver of disease in later stages. Overall, our data suggest that therapeutic approaches reducing soluble p-tau levels might be most favorable in early AD.
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| 2. |
- Franzmeier, Nicolai, et al.
(författare)
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Earlier Alzheimer's disease onset is associated with a shift of tau pathology towards brain hubs which facilitates tau spreading
- 2022
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Ingår i: Alzheimer's and Dementia. - : Wiley. - 1552-5260 .- 1552-5279. ; 18:S1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: In Alzheimer’s disease (AD), younger symptom onset is associated accelerated cognitive decline and tau spreading, yet the drivers of faster disease manifestation in patients with earlier symptom onset are unknown. Earlier symptom onset is associated with stronger tau pathology in fronto-parietal regions which typically harbor globally connected hubs that are central for cognition. Since tau spreads across connected regions, globally connected hubs may accelerate tau spreading due to their large number of connections to other brain regions. Thus, we hypothesized that a pattern shift of tau pathology towards globally connected brain hubs may facilitate tau spreading and earlier symptom manifestation in AD. Method: We included two independent samples with longitudinal Flortaucipir tau-PET covering the AD spectrum (ADNI: n(controls/AD-preclinical/AD-symptomatic)=93/60/89, BioFINDER, n(controls/AD-preclinical/AD-symptomatic)=16/16/25). In addition, we included resting-state fMRI from human connectome project participants (n=1000), applying a 200-ROI brain atlas to obtain a global connectivity map for assessing brain hubs (Fig.1A-D). Applying the same atlas to tau-PET we transformed SUVRs to tau positivities using a pre-established gaussian-mixture modeling approach (Fig.1E-F). By mapping tau-PET positivities to the fMRI-derived global connectivity map (Fig.1G-L), we assessed the degree to which subject specific tau-PET patterns were shifted towards globally connected hubs or non-hubs, while adjusting for global tau levels. Using linear regression, we then tested whether a stronger shift of tau towards hubs was associated with earlier symptom manifestation and faster longitudinal tau accumulation. Result: In symptomatic AD patients, younger age was associated with a stronger shift of tau-PET towards globally connected brain hubs (p[ADNI/BiOFINDER]=0.024/0.018, Fig.2A&B), and with higher global connectivity of epicenters with highest tau pathology (p[ADNI/BiOFINDER]<0.001/0.001, Fig.2C&D). In symptomatic AD, younger age (p[ADNI/BiOFINDER]=0.009/0.001) and a stronger shift of tau-PET towards hubs predicted faster subsequent tau accumulation (p[ADNI/BiOFINDER]=0.004/0.002), supporting the view that that hubs facilitate tau spreading (Fig.3). Further, a stronger shift of tau-PET towards globally connected brain hubs mediated the association between younger age and faster tau accumulation in symptomatic AD patients (p[ADNI/BiOFINDER]=0.039/0.046). Conclusion: Younger AD symptom onset is associated with stronger tau pathology in globally connected brain hubs, which facilitates faster tau spreading.
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| 3. |
- Franzmeier, Nicolai, 1989, et al.
(författare)
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Elevated CSF GAP-43 is associated with accelerated tau accumulation and spread in Alzheimer's disease.
- 2024
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Ingår i: Nature communications. - 2041-1723. ; 15:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In Alzheimer's disease, amyloid-beta (Aβ) triggers the trans-synaptic spread of tau pathology, and aberrant synaptic activity has been shown to promote tau spreading. Aβ induces aberrant synaptic activity, manifesting in increases in the presynaptic growth-associated protein 43 (GAP-43), which is closely involved in synaptic activity and plasticity. We therefore tested whether Aβ-related GAP-43 increases, as a marker of synaptic changes, drive tau spreading in 93 patients across the aging and Alzheimer's spectrum with available CSF GAP-43, amyloid-PET and longitudinal tau-PET assessments. We found that (1) higher GAP-43 was associated with faster Aβ-related tau accumulation, specifically in brain regions connected closest to subject-specific tau epicenters and (2) that higher GAP-43 strengthened the association between Aβ and connectivity-associated tau spread. This suggests that GAP-43-related synaptic changes are linked to faster Aβ-related tau spread across connected regions and that synapses could be key targets for preventing tau spreading in Alzheimer's disease.
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| 4. |
- Frontzkowski, Lukas, et al.
(författare)
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Earlier Alzheimer’s disease onset is associated with tau pathology in brain hub regions and facilitated tau spreading
- 2022
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Ingår i: Nature Communications. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2041-1723. ; 13:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In Alzheimer’s disease (AD), younger symptom onset is associated with accelerated disease progression and tau spreading, yet the mechanisms underlying faster disease manifestation are unknown. To address this, we combined resting-state fMRI and longitudinal tau-PET in two independent samples of controls and biomarker-confirmed AD patients (ADNI/BioFINDER, n = 240/57). Consistent across both samples, we found that younger symptomatic AD patients showed stronger tau-PET in globally connected fronto-parietal hubs, i.e., regions that are critical for maintaining cognition in AD. Stronger tau-PET in hubs predicted faster subsequent tau accumulation, suggesting that tau in globally connected regions facilitates connectivity-mediated tau spreading. Further, stronger tau-PET in hubs mediated the association between younger age and faster tau accumulation in symptomatic AD patients, which predicted faster cognitive decline. These independently validated findings suggest that younger AD symptom onset is associated with stronger tau pathology in brain hubs, and accelerated tau spreading throughout connected brain regions and cognitive decline.
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| 5. |
- Pichet Binette, Alexa, et al.
(författare)
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Amyloid-associated increases in soluble tau relate to tau aggregation rates and cognitive decline in early Alzheimer's disease
- 2022
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Ingår i: Nature Communications. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2041-1723. ; 13:1, s. 6635-6635
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- For optimal design of anti-amyloid-β (Aβ) and anti-tau clinical trials, we need to better understand the pathophysiological cascade of Aβ- and tau-related processes. Therefore, we set out to investigate how Aβ and soluble phosphorylated tau (p-tau) relate to the accumulation of tau aggregates assessed with PET and subsequent cognitive decline across the Alzheimer's disease (AD) continuum. Using human cross-sectional and longitudinal neuroimaging and cognitive assessment data, we show that in early stages of AD, increased concentration of soluble CSF p-tau is strongly associated with accumulation of insoluble tau aggregates across the brain, and CSF p-tau levels mediate the effect of Aβ on tau aggregation. Further, higher soluble p-tau concentrations are mainly related to faster accumulation of tau aggregates in the regions with strong functional connectivity to individual tau epicenters. In this early stage, higher soluble p-tau concentrations is associated with cognitive decline, which is mediated by faster increase of tau aggregates. In contrast, in AD dementia, when Aβ fibrils and soluble p-tau levels have plateaued, cognitive decline is related to the accumulation rate of insoluble tau aggregates. Our data suggest that therapeutic approaches reducing soluble p-tau levels might be most favorable in early AD, before widespread insoluble tau aggregates.
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| 6. |
- Steward, Anna, et al.
(författare)
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ApoE4 and Connectivity-Mediated Spreading of Tau Pathology at Lower Amyloid Levels
- 2023
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Ingår i: JAMA Neurology. - 2168-6149 .- 2168-6157. ; 80:12, s. 1295-1306
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- IMPORTANCE For the Alzheimer disease (AD) therapies to effectively attenuate clinical progression, it may be critical to intervene before the onset of amyloid-associated tau spreading, which drives neurodegeneration and cognitive decline. Time points at which amyloid-associated tau spreading accelerates may depend on individual risk factors, such as apolipoprotein E ε4 (ApoE4) carriership, which is linked to faster disease progression; however, the association of ApoE4 with amyloid-related tau spreading is unclear. OBJECTIVE To assess if ApoE4 carriers show accelerated amyloid-related tau spreading and propose amyloid positron emission tomography (PET) thresholds at which tau spreading accelerates in ApoE4 carriers vs noncarriers. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS This cohort study including combined ApoE genotyping, amyloid PET, and longitudinal tau PET from 2 independent samples: the Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI; n = 237; collected from April 2015 to August 2022) and Avid-A05 (n = 130; collected from December 2013 to July 2017) with a mean (SD) tau PET follow-up time of 1.9 (0.96) years in ADNI and 1.4 (0.23) years in Avid-A05. ADNI is an observational multicenter Alzheimer disease neuroimaging initiative and Avid-A05 an observational clinical trial. Participants classified as cognitively normal (152 in ADNI and 77 in Avid-A05) or mildly cognitively impaired (107 in ADNI and 53 in Avid-A05) were selected based on ApoE genotyping, amyloid-PET, and longitudinal tau PET data availability. Participants with ApoE ε2/ε4 genotype or classified as having dementia were excluded. Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging connectivity templates were based on 42 healthy participants in ADNI. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES Mediation of amyloid PET on the association between ApoE4 status and subsequent tau PET increase through Braak stage regions and interaction between ApoE4 status and amyloid PET with annual tau PET increase through Braak stage regions and connectivity-based spreading stages (tau epicenter connectivity ranked regions). RESULTS The mean (SD) age was 73.9 (7.35) years among the 237 ADNI participants and 70.2 (9.7) years among the 130 Avid-A05 participants. A total of 107 individuals in ADNI (45.1%) and 45 in Avid-A05 (34.6%) were ApoE4 carriers. Across both samples, we found that higher amyloid PET–mediated ApoE4-related tau PET increased globally (ADNI b, 0.15; 95% CI, 0.05-0.28; P = .001 and Avid-A05 b, 0.33; 95% CI, 0.14-0.54; P < .001) and in earlier Braak regions. Further, we found a significant association between ApoE4 status by amyloid PET interaction and annual tau PET increases consistently through early Braak- and connectivity-based stages where amyloid-related tau accumulation was accelerated in ApoE4carriers vs noncarriers at lower centiloid thresholds, corrected for age and sex. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE The findings in this study indicate that amyloid-related tau accumulation was accelerated in ApoE4 carriers at lower amyloid levels, suggesting that ApoE4 may facilitate earlier amyloid-driven tau spreading across connected brain regions. Possible therapeutic implications might be further investigated to determine when best to prevent tau spreading and thus cognitive decline depending on ApoE4 status.
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