Department of Neurology, MassGeneral Institute of Neurodegenerative Diseases, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA, USA.
Harvard Medical School/VA Boston Healthcare System, West Roxbury, MA, USA.
Commun Biol. 2022 Dec 2;5(1):1323. doi: 10.1038/s42003-022-04268-x.
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is characterized by progressive memory loss and cognitive decline. These impairments correlate with early alterations in neuronal network activity in AD patients. Disruptions in the activity of individual neurons have been reported in mouse models of amyloidosis. However, the impact of amyloid pathology on the spontaneous activity of distinct neuronal types remains unexplored in vivo. Here we use in vivo calcium imaging with multiphoton microscopy to monitor and compare the activity of excitatory and two types of inhibitory interneurons in the cortices of APP/PS1 and control mice under isoflurane anesthesia. We also determine the relationship between amyloid accumulation and the deficits in spontaneous activity in APP/PS1 mice. We show that somatostatin-expressing (SOM) interneurons are hyperactive, while parvalbumin-expressing interneurons are hypoactive in APP/PS1 mice. Only SOM interneuron hyperactivity correlated with proximity to amyloid plaque. These inhibitory deficits were accompanied by decreased excitatory neuron activity in APP/PS1 mice. Our study identifies cell-specific neuronal firing deficits in APP/PS1 mice driven by amyloid pathology. These findings highlight the importance of addressing the complexity of neuron-specific deficits to ameliorate circuit dysfunction in Alzheimer's disease.
阿尔茨海默病(AD)的特征是进行性记忆丧失和认知能力下降。这些损伤与 AD 患者神经元网络活动的早期改变相关。淀粉样变性的小鼠模型中已经报道了个别神经元活动的中断。然而,淀粉样蛋白病理学对体内不同神经元类型的自发性活动的影响仍未得到探索。在这里,我们使用多光子显微镜的体内钙成像来监测和比较异氟烷麻醉下 APP/PS1 和对照小鼠皮质中兴奋性神经元和两种抑制性中间神经元的活性。我们还确定了 APP/PS1 小鼠中淀粉样蛋白积累与自发性活动缺陷之间的关系。我们表明,在 APP/PS1 小鼠中,SOM 中间神经元过度活跃,而 PV 中间神经元活性降低。只有 SOM 中间神经元的过度活跃与淀粉样斑块的接近度相关。这些抑制性缺陷伴随着 APP/PS1 小鼠中兴奋性神经元活性的降低。我们的研究确定了由淀粉样蛋白病理学驱动的 APP/PS1 小鼠中特定于细胞的神经元放电缺陷。这些发现强调了解决神经元特异性缺陷的复杂性以改善阿尔茨海默病中的电路功能障碍的重要性。