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Home: Papers of the Week
Annotation


Yuan A, Kumar A, Peterhoff C, Duff K, Nixon RA. Axonal transport rates in vivo are unaffected by tau deletion or overexpression in mice. J Neurosci. 2008 Feb 13;28(7):1682-7. PubMed Abstract, View on AlzSWAN

  
Comments on Paper and Primary News
  Primary News: Axonal Transport Not Bothered by Tau Elevation In Vivo

Comment by:  Virginia Lee, ARF Advisor, John Trojanowski, ARF Advisor
Submitted 14 February 2008  |  Permalink Posted 14 February 2008

In this paper, Yuan et al. report elegant studies of axonal transport in vivo using tau transgenic and tau knockout mice that overexpress human tau isoforms or completely lack tau expression, respectively. These studies sought to elucidate the consequences of too much tau or a complete lack of tau on axonal transport in living mice. This is a most welcome study by the Nixon lab, which has made important contributions to the understanding of axonal transport dynamics for over 2 decades. This study makes increasingly clear that there is a critical need for more studies of this kind to understand how perturbations in tau expression levels or tau pathologies are linked to axonal transport failure and tau-mediated neurodegeneration in Alzheimer disease (AD) and related tauopathies. Indeed, there is growing evidence that failed axonal transport might be the underlying basis for several neurodegenerative diseases in addition to tauopathies (8). It is especially important and timely to undertake in vivo axonal transport studies using the classic Lasek paradigm for measuring rates of...  Read more


  Primary News: Axonal Transport Not Bothered by Tau Elevation In Vivo

Comment by:  Akihiko Takashima, ARF Advisor
Submitted 14 February 2008  |  Permalink Posted 14 February 2008

In this paper, Randy Nixon’s group first demonstrated in vivo that axonal transport rates are not significantly affected by tau deletion or overexpression in mouse brain. The results are highly convincing.

In in vitro studies, the Mandelkows’ group and Hirokawa’s group have suggested that tau overexpression inhibits anterograde transport in cultured cells and neurons. Recently, Holzbaur’s group indicated that when kinesin motor protein encountered tau patches on microtubules, composed of 10 tau molecules, it detached from microtubules (Dixit et al., 2008). However, monomeric tau levels 20-fold above physiological concentration did not affect axonal transport in squid axon (Morfini et al., 2007). Taken together, aggregated tau on microtubules, but not monomeric tau, may induce inhibition of axonal transport.

Ishihara and colleagues showed that expressing the shortest human tau fivefold to 10-fold over endogenous tau inhibited axonal transport (  Read more


  Primary News: Axonal Transport Not Bothered by Tau Elevation In Vivo

Comment by:  Fred Van Leuven (Disclosure)
Submitted 19 February 2008  |  Permalink Posted 19 February 2008

The picture is more complicated than the title of Yuan et al. would lead us to believe. Our group has generated many tau transgenic mice strains, and at least Tau-4R mice have impaired axonal transport (Spittaels et al., 1999; Künzi et al., 2002), which, moreover, can be rescued by GSK-3β (Spittaels et al., 2000).

Whether or not axonal transport is impaired depends not only on expression levels, as our Tau-4R mice expressed only about twofold over endogenous mouse tau, and we did not observe aggregates of tau.

Other factors must play a role, from the actual tau isoform and promoter used, up to integration site effects. The latter is illustrated by the "selection" of tau mutant mice (Schindowsky et al., 2006). Other, as yet unknown factors play a role, based on heterogeneity of phenotype, gender differences, variability in response to treatments, etc.

There is clearly more to tau and transport than currently meets the eye (just as is the case with APP).

References:
Spittaels K, Van den Haute C, Van Dorpe J, Bruynseels K, Vandezande K, Laenen I, Geerts H, Mercken M, Sciot R, Van Lommel A, Loos R, Van Leuven F. Prominent axonopathy in the brain and spinal cord of transgenic mice overexpressing four-repeat human tau protein. Am J Pathol. 1999 Dec 1;155(6):2153-65. Abstract

Spittaels K, Van den Haute C, Van Dorpe J, Geerts H, Mercken M, Bruynseels K, Lasrado R, Vandezande K, Laenen I, Boon T, Van Lint J, Vandenheede J, Moechars D, Loos R, Van Leuven F. Glycogen synthase kinase-3beta phosphorylates protein tau and rescues the axonopathy in the central nervous system of human four-repeat tau transgenic mice. J Biol Chem. 2000 Dec 29;275(52):41340-9. Abstract

Künzi V, Glatzel M, Nakano MY, Greber UF, Van Leuven F, Aguzzi A. Unhampered prion neuroinvasion despite impaired fast axonal transport in transgenic mice overexpressing four-repeat tau. J Neurosci. 2002 Sep 1;22(17):7471-7. Abstract

Schindowski K, Bretteville A, Leroy K, Bégard S, Brion JP, Hamdane M, Buée L. Alzheimer's disease-like tau neuropathology leads to memory deficits and loss of functional synapses in a novel mutated tau transgenic mouse without any motor deficits. Am J Pathol. 2006 Aug 1;169(2):599-616. Abstract

View all comments by Fred Van Leuven


  Comment by:  Ralph Nixon, Aidong Yuan
Submitted 27 February 2008  |  Permalink Posted 27 February 2008

Reply by Aidong Yuan and Ralph Nixon to comments
Our study was an in vivo test of the hypothesis that moderate overexpression of tau directly impairs axonal transport. We expected our in vivo results to support in vitro data, but the surprising absence of a significant effect was clear and is compatible with existing data. The thoughtful comments in this forum highlight important general issues for consideration in future investigations in this area. As discussed in our report, we agree with the view expressed by Fred Van Leuven that our findings do not exclude the possibility that pathological states of tau might directly or indirectly alter axonal transport. Going forward, however, the task of defining any meaningful direct connection between pathological tau and transport disruption will require that primary effects on transport be distinguished from indirect effects that are secondary to neurodegeneration, which inevitably disrupts transport. In the studies of mice overexpressing tau 4R cited by Van Leuven (1-4), the inference that axonal transport may be...  Read more

  Comment by:  Erika Holzbaur
Submitted 27 February 2008  |  Permalink Posted 27 February 2008

This interesting paper uses classical assays to measure slow transport and some markers for fast axonal transport. It sees no differences in gross rates of axonal transport in the absence of tau, or upon tau overexpression. Thus, this work differs significantly from observations made by the Mandelkow lab looking at the effects of tau expression on axonal transport and organelle localization.

The reasons for the apparent discrepancies between these observations remain to be determined. One possibility is the nature of the cargos under investigation, as the paper by Yuan et al. is focusing primarily on cargos undergoing slow transport along the axon. An alternate possibility is the relatively insensitive nature of the transport assay used by Yuan et al. For example, previous work using this approach in the SOD1 model for familial ALS did not reveal significant defects in anterograde transport until relatively late in disease (Zhang et al., 1997; Williamson and Cleveland, 1999), whereas...  Read more

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REAGENTS/MATERIAL:
Antibodies used in this study are:
For immunoblotting, rabbit anti-mouse tau (LK) (Marc Merkin); rabbit anti-human, mouse tau, phosphorylated and nonphosphorylated (JM) (A Takashima); mouse monoclonal anti-NF-L (NR4) (Sigma Aldrich); rabbit anti-SNAP 25 (Sigma Aldrich).
For immunocytochemistry, rabbit anti-tau (Dako Cytomation).
For immunoblotting and immunofluorescence, mouse monoclonal anti-PHF Tau, phospho Ser202 (AT8) (Pierce Endogen)

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