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Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences

The Role Of Apolipoprotein E In Regulating Tau Pathogenesis And Neurodegeneration In A Tauopathy Mouse Model, Yang Shi Dec 2018

The Role Of Apolipoprotein E In Regulating Tau Pathogenesis And Neurodegeneration In A Tauopathy Mouse Model, Yang Shi

Arts & Sciences Electronic Theses and Dissertations

APOE4 is the strongest genetic risk factor for late-onset Alzheimer's disease (AD). APOE4 increases brain amyloid-β (Aβ) pathology relative to other APOE isoforms. However, whether APOE independently influences tau pathology, the other pathological hallmark of AD and other tauopathies, or tau-mediated neurodegeneration, is not clear. By generating P301S tau transgenic mice on either a human APOE knock in (KI) or APOE knockout (KO) background, we show that the presence of human APOE, regardless of APOE isoforms, leads to various degrees of brain atrophy in 9-month old P301S mice, whereas APOE ablation strongly protects against neurodegeneration. In particular, P301S/E4 mice develop …


Cyclophilin 40 As A Novel Disaggregase, Jeremy Dustin Baker Nov 2018

Cyclophilin 40 As A Novel Disaggregase, Jeremy Dustin Baker

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The negative health and economic impacts of neurodegenerative diseases on Americans is astounding and accelerating with an aging population. The Alzheimer’s Association reports that 5.7 million Americans suffer from Alzheimer’s disease (AD), a number which is expected to increase to 14 million by 2050. In economic terms, AD and other neurodegenerative disorders will cost the US over $275 billion in 2018, rising to over $1 trillion annually by 2050. AD causes gross brain atrophy and is most damaging throughout the cortex and the hippocampus, regions required for higher cognitive function and memory. AD presents as tangles within neurons composed of …


Apoe And Alzheimer’S Disease: Neuroimaging Of Metabolic And Cerebrovascular Dysfunction, Jason A. Brandon, Brandon C. Farmer, Holden C. Williams, Lance A. Johnson Jun 2018

Apoe And Alzheimer’S Disease: Neuroimaging Of Metabolic And Cerebrovascular Dysfunction, Jason A. Brandon, Brandon C. Farmer, Holden C. Williams, Lance A. Johnson

Physiology Faculty Publications

Apolipoprotein E4 (ApoE4) is the strongest genetic risk factor for late onset Alzheimer’s Disease (AD), and is associated with impairments in cerebral metabolism and cerebrovascular function. A substantial body of literature now points to E4 as a driver of multiple impairments seen in AD, including blunted brain insulin signaling, mismanagement of brain cholesterol and fatty acids, reductions in blood brain barrier (BBB) integrity, and decreased cerebral glucose uptake. Various neuroimaging techniques, in particular positron emission topography (PET) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), have been instrumental in characterizing these metabolic and vascular deficits associated with this important AD risk factor. In …


Minocycline Protects Developing Brain Against Ethanol-Induced Damage, Xin Wang, Kai Zhang, Fanmuyi Yang, Zhenhua Ren, Mei Xu, Jacqueline A. Frank, Zun-Ji Ke, Jia Luo Feb 2018

Minocycline Protects Developing Brain Against Ethanol-Induced Damage, Xin Wang, Kai Zhang, Fanmuyi Yang, Zhenhua Ren, Mei Xu, Jacqueline A. Frank, Zun-Ji Ke, Jia Luo

Pharmacology and Nutritional Sciences Faculty Publications

Fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD) are caused by ethanol exposure during the pregnancy and is the leading cause of mental retardation. Ethanol exposure during the development results in the loss of neurons in the developing brain, which may underlie many neurobehavioral deficits associated with FASD. It is important to understand the mechanisms underlying ethanol-induced neuronal loss and develop appropriate therapeutic strategies. One of the potential mechanisms involves neuroimmune activation. Using a third trimester equivalent mouse model of ethanol exposure, we demonstrated that ethanol induced a wide-spread neuroapoptosis, microglial activation, and neuroinflammation in C57BL/6 mice. Minocycline is an antibiotic that inhibits …


Could A Common Mechanism Of Protein Degradation Impairment Underlie Many Neurodegenerative Diseases?, David M. Smith Jan 2018

Could A Common Mechanism Of Protein Degradation Impairment Underlie Many Neurodegenerative Diseases?, David M. Smith

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

At the cellular level, many neurodegenerative diseases (NDs), often considered proteinopathies, are characterized by the accumulation of misfolded and damaged proteins into large insoluble aggregates. Prominent species that accumulate early and play fundamental roles in disease pathogenesis are amyloid β (Aβ) and tau in Alzheimer disease, α-synuclein (α-syn) in Parkinson disease, and polyQ-expanded huntingtin (Htt) in Huntington disease. Although significant efforts have focused on how the cell deals with these protein aggregates, why is it that these misfolded proteins are not degraded normally in the first place? A vast body of literature supports the notion that the cell’s protein degradation …